Almost 100,000 more children will be entitled to free school meals if Labour wins in May’s Scottish election. The promise was made by Jack McConnell and welcomed by opposition parties, although they accused the First Minister of stealing their policies.
Free meals are available only for children in low income families and those whose parents are out of work, currently 122,000. Under the Labour proposals, free meals would be extended to a further 97,000 children whose parents receive working tax credit.
A study by the Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland said more than 900,000 people in Scotland were living in poverty, including 240,000 children.
