Councillors have agreed for the council’s in-house school meals service to be set at £3.43 from the start of the new academic year.
The new cost was approved following a vote at the latest Neighbourhoods and Regulatory Services Committee meeting.
Kieran Bostock, Hartlepool Borough Council’s Director of Neighbourhoods and Regulatory Services, said: “We recognise that any increase in the cost of school meals will be a concern for families, particularly at a time when household budgets remain under strain. In reaching this decision, we have carefully considered the need to keep meals affordable whilst ensuring the sustainability of the service which continues to be under pressure from rising costs and increasing nutritional standards.”
He added: “The cost increase proposed is aimed at finding the balance between providing affordable healthy hot meals whilst reducing the level of subsidy currently required from council tax payers to operate the service. We feel that the option agreed represents the most balanced approach available.”
A report to the committee saw three options presented by council officers for the price of a school meal to increase the meal price to £4, £3.60, or £3.43 – and councillors voted for the lowest of the options put forward.
The meal price currently charged by the council is £2.79, which is said to be 65p less than the estimated true cost.
The town’s Labour MP, Jonathan Brash, criticised the move, saying: “Families are watching every penny. They don’t need another bill landing on the kitchen table because Reform couldn’t find a better solution. This isn’t balancing the books – it’s balancing them on the backs of hardworking parents.”
Author: Ian
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