Deal lops £1m off schools meals bill

Published: 3 December, 2010
by TERRY MESSENGER

The school meals bill in Islington will fall by nearly £1million after the Town Hall agreed a new contract with a supplier

The deal will slice £905,000 off the previous £3.2m annual cost of the contract.

And the quality of the food will improve, according to Labour council leader Councillor Catherine West. She said that the saving had been achieved by pitching in with neighbouring Camden Council to pay the contractor jointly. 

The firm which has won the contract will be named next week after Camden Council has formally ratified the deal. “They [the contractor] get a bigger contract but we benefit from economies of scale – it’s cheaper to buy ingredients the more you buy,” Cllr West explained.

The new contract runs from September next year until 2016.

Cllr West declined to say whether the new contractor was in-house or an outside firm such as existing supplier Caterlink.

The borough’s ruling Labour group hopes the saving will dampen criticism of its free school meals policy for primary pupils – a policy resulting in an 80 per cent take-up of meals.

Cllr West promised that, under the new contract, school meals staff would at least receive the London Living Wage of £7.85p per hour.