Exclusive: 90% of primary schools miss out on free meals funding

The Yorkshire Post can reveal that 51 of the 56 schools which bid for extra Government cash to allow them to deliver the policy did not get any new funding.

Providing free school meals to infants is seen as a flagship policy of the Liberal Democrats in the coalition after it was announced by party leader Nick Clegg in 2013.

A spokesman for the Deputy Prime Minister said that all schools in Yorkshire which had said they were unable to provide hot food had received additional money.

The policy has been blighted by questions over how it was costed and whether schools had the capacity in their kitchens to be able to deliver it. The requirement on schools to provide free meals to children up to the age of seven came into effect last September.

The DfE provided £150m of funding to pay for capital work and announced in October last year that an extra £20m would be provided.

Last week The Yorkshire Post revealed that all four schools which applied in Mr Clegg’s home city of Sheffield were unsuccessful.

Now we can reveal that these were among 51 Yorkshire schools which missed out including 14 in Bradford, nine in Leeds and 15 in the East Riding. Two schools in the East Riding and three in North Yorkshire did get extra money.

Count Ralph Berry, Bradford Council’s executive member for children’s services said 90 per cent of Yorkshire and all Bradford schools missing out on funding they needed was “appalling.”

A spokesman for Mr Clegg said: “Schools were given £150million to improve kitchen and dining facilities. Additional money was made available to those who weren’t able to provide hot meals. All of the schools in Yorkshire that applied for extra funding because they were unable to provide hot meals received this boost. Thanks to this policy, 1.3 million more infants are now enjoying a proper meal at lunchtime.”

However school governor Andy Jolley who has been campaigning for answers over how the policy has been funded questioned the Government’s response.

He said: “There are still a significant number of schools who need extra support in order to meet their legal requirements on free school meals. The root cause of all the problems is that the policy wasn’t thought through properly and still remains underfunded.

“The DfE decision to prioritise hot meals above others is pure political spin, the regulations make no reference to hot meals. Many schools are still faced with the prospect of serving cold food, because the funding simply isn’t there.”