Free school meals rollback ‘unforgivable'
Reacting to confirmation at First Minister’s Questions that the Scottish Government has broken its commitment to provide universal free school meals, STUC General Secretary Roz Foyer:
“This is unforgivable. This was a promise to the starving schoolchildren of Scotland that their government would protect and care for them in their hour of need. To let those pupils down is a sickening reflection of this government’s inability to stick to their word.
“Delay after delay. False promise after false promise. This policy spoke to the values of our nation. It had the full support of our movement and support from across wider civic Scotland. It’s utterly incompatible therefore that the First Minister claims tackling child poverty is his number one priority yet reneges on this promise which would help achieve just that.
“This must be reversed. Every day a child in Scotland suffers avoidable hunger is a failure of our state. The trade union movement across Scotland is still willing to assist but if our politicians think child hunger is a price worth paying in the pursuit of this government’s renewed pro-business, pro-entrepreneurial economic approach, then we face an uphill battle.
Commenting, STUC Women’s Committee Chair Lorna Glen said:
“Breaking promises to hungry school children is a damning indictment of the character of the Scottish Government.
“This was their chance to stick to their word; to ensure every child, no matter their background, was afforded an equal chance to learn free from hunger. It’s clear that government ministers think, despite the First Minister’s laudable ambition to eradicate it, child poverty is a price worth paying when the going is financially tough.
“It simply didn’t have to be this way. We know finances are tight but that’s what happens when you become economically illiterate and freeze council tax or pledge to eradicate child poverty but don’t fund that pledge properly. Our movement believes that feeding the starving pupils of our nation is a price worth paying. The government once thought so too.
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