Derbyshire children could be deprived of 'the only warm meal' they have - says councillor and MP as petition launched to scrap school meal price increase

Derbyshire County Council announced that school meal prices will increase from September – after catering services have been significantly affected by inflation and other factors driving up the cost of food and staffing.

The primary paid meal charge to parents and carers is set to increase by 95p to £3.25 from the new school year. Prices are set by a comparable amount in secondary schools, but will vary as there is more meal choice.

The announcement was criticised by parents and teachers and now Chesterfield MP Toby Perkins and Staveley Councillor Anne-Frances Hayes have organised a meeting and launched a petition against the scheme.

Mr Perkins said: “The council should review the increase and lower it to £2.65 per meal in line with the national average. £3.25 is simply too much. There will be a number of pupils whose parents will not be able to afford to pay £3.25 for a meal each day - especially if there are two or three children in the family."

Councillor Hayes, who distributed paper versions of the petition across the schools in her ward, commented: “Conservative members at Derbyshire County Council have kept the increase under the radar. This is a cost of living crisis where parents are struggling as it is. The price of a school meal will go up by 95p per child per day. This increase means that parents will have to pay £5 extra per child per week.

“For some children, this is the only warm meal in the day that they have and parents will have to make a decision to take that meal away from their children.”

Councillor Joannie Dixon, Leader Derbyshire Labour Group, said on Twitter: “Derbyshire's proposed increase to £3.25 is far higher than other councils, where the average cost of a primary school meal is due to rise to £2.65. Neighbouring councils such as Cheshire East charge just £2.30 and in Nottinghamshire schools charge between £2.30 and £2.58.

“The cost increases that Derbyshire cites don't justify such a huge increase which is unfair on families and risks our excellent in-house catering service becoming unviable if not enough families can afford school meals.

"That's why the Labour Group are asking the Health Scrutiny Board at DCC to look at look at the wider impact that it could have on children's health if they cannot afford school meals, to scrutinise the price rise and explore the reasons behind it."

In a statement published this week, Derbyshire County Council Cabinet Member for Education Councillor Alex Dale said: “The decision to increase meal prices has been an incredibly difficult one which we’ve made very reluctantly, given the pressures we know families across the county are facing. However, unfortunately our catering service is not immune to the soaring costs of ingredients and staffing.”