Dudley school meals cost will rise to £1.90 per day
Parents in Dudley who pay for their children to have school meals will have to fork out around £1 extra a month, under new plans.
The five pence rise will take the cost of a lunch up to £1.90 a day or £9.50 a week, if approved by council chiefs.
They say the 3.3 per cent inflationary rise will cover rising food and fuel bills.
It is expected to bring in an extra £125,000 in 2013 to 2014, which will offset the increase in costs, the council says.
Bosses said today despite previous increases the number of children having school dinners rose year.
Dudley Council's education chief Councillor Tim Crumpton said in a report: "Meal uptake in 2011 to 2012 saw a 2.9 per cent rise, and year to date we have maintained numbers, despite the current climate.
"Trends from the past three years have shown that the price increase has had no affect on meal numbers."
The cost of a meal over the border in Sandwell is also £1.90. While in Wolverhampton it's £2 and in Staffordshire it's £2.10. A final decision will be made on the rise at a meeting on March 4.
Meanwhile Councillor Crumpton has approved plans to increase charges for children visiting Astley Burf Outdoor Centre, in Stourport-on-Severn from April.
The fees paid for one week from Monday to Friday will go up from £101 to £103, while the cost of a four-day visit from increase from £81 to £83. The cost of a weekend trip will increase from £52 to £53.
The price of an activity week in summer will rise from £270 to £275.
