Express & Star

Money is there for free school meals in Black Country and Staffordshire

Councils around the region today reassured families they are financially ready to provide free school meals for all infants as new rules came into force.

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A Local Government Association (LGA) poll suggested that local authorities were being forced to raid existing budgets to ensure all five to seven-year-olds would be given one free meal a day from this month .

The Department for Education gave funding to councils but the LGA claimed there was a shortfall of around £25.9m to cover the work that needed to be done to provide the meals.

But councils in the Black Country and Staffordshire said they were on track.

Wolverhampton councillor Phil Page said: "We've carried out a lot of work over the last few months to prepare for the launch of universal free school meals, including recruiting 40 additional catering staff and carrying out development work at a number of schools across the city."

Councillor Khizar Hussain from Walsall said: "Walsall Council has received its allocation of £698,000 from the Department for Education to support schools to provide free school meals to all children in Reception and Years 1 and year 2 from September. There is no overspend and council budgets are not being diverted."

Parents' initial joy at their potential savings turned to worry when the LGA claimed nearly half of the 75 councils they questioned had not received enough money from the Government.

But Councillor Simon Hackett, of Sandwell Council , said: "We have budgeted so every infant pupil will receive a free school dinner. We have received sufficient funding for this."

And Councillor Tim Crumpton from Dudley added: "We received £855,308 from the Government for the free school meals programme."

The LGA said it had calculated that councils without enough money for the scheme have had to find an estimated £488,000 on averag.

But Ben Adams, of Staffordshire County Council, said: "

Staffordshire County Council didn't have any extra money, so we ordered early, negotiated discounts for buying in bulk and worked hard to ensure the work done at 150 schools stayed within our £2.03m allocation from the Government."

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