The relaunched campaign for a school meals Bill, supported by the Child Poverty Action Group, One Plus and the Poverty Alliance, seeks to give powers to ministers to introduce free lunches for all children or to target the measure at a particular age group such as primary pupils.
The Free School Meals and Snacks Bill proposals are now open to consultation. The Bill would:
* provide free school meals, water and milk in all state primary schools
* give powers to Scottish ministers to extend this provision to secondary schools
* give powers to Scottish ministers to regulate the sale and advertisement of food and drink on school premises
* require ministers to set nutritional standards for school meals
* establish a complaints procedure The shift away from the aim of universal free school meals in the previous Bill is to maximise support for extending free meal entitlement.
The deadline for submissions is September 30.
