Free school meals for five to seven-year-olds cannot be funded without cash being diverted from other education services, Holyrood's education committee has heard.
Free school meals for five to seven-year-olds cannot be funded without cash being diverted from other education services, Holyrood's education committee has heard.
Officials from four councils said it was their intention to deliver the policy if it is passed by the parliament, but some said extra cash will be needed or pressure will be put upon staffing levels and resources.
Inverclyde Council warned it had a budget deficit of £9m over the next four years with almost half of the savings expected to come from education. The free school meals policy, it estimated, will cost the council £368,000 a year.
Albert Henderson, its head of schools, said: "We don't have any money unaccounted for."
Other authorities said there could be pressure on staff, with extra supervision required and longer lunchtimes affecting schools where dining halls double as gymnasiums.
Aberdeen City Council had said it was opposed to the policy as it did not see the benefit of free school meals for all P1-3 pupils and wanted to provide breakfasts instead, but Kirsty West, education convener, said yesterday it would be putting the policy in place.
