Fair school lunches

Published: 19 February 2010

• I AGREE with Lib Dem John Gilbert that Islington Labour councillors’ policy of robbing from the poor locally to provide free school meals for the rich is scandalous (Forced down their throats? February 12).

Children who come from low-income families may still not qualify for government help for school dinners – this is ridiculous. In fact, it is as ridiculous as the fact that you can be on the minimum wage but still have to pay income tax – what is the sense in that? 

It is quite simply wrong that Islington council tax-payers, like me, should have to pick up the tab for the government’s mistakes. I would strongly support a “fair school meals” initiative, to help local families on low incomes. 

Why won’t the government pay for free school meals for all in Islington? Instead, my council tax money is being used to buy lunches for children whose families can already afford them.  

DAISY COOPER
Tollington Park, N4 

THANKS to the Tribune for finally printing a balanced article on “free” school meals. Lib Dem council finance chief John Gilbert is absolutely right – we do need fair school meals.

Labour introduced free school meals for all in primary schools when it managed to hijack the council budget. But it’s not fair for people earning borderline incomes to be subsidising meals for parents earning more than £100,000 a year. 

It’s not fair to secondary school students who get nothing. And it’s not fair that Labour talks only about free school meals rather than healthy school meals.

And so many young people come to Islington’s schools from other boroughs. Hackney and Haringey have Labour councils, but neither hands out free school meals. But children from Hackney and Haringey coming to Islington get free lunches courtesy of our council tax-payers. Thanks to Labour’s free lunch policy, more than £500,000 of Islington residents’ council tax money will be spent on giving lunches to children from other boroughs. This isn’t fair on Islington taxpayers.

We need a council that is responsible with local taxpayers’ money and that doesn’t spend millions on pet projects. Labour nearly bankrupted the council last time it was in power – and if elected in May will quickly do the same again.

CLLR PAULA BELFORD
Lib Dem executive member for children and young people