Dear First Minister,
We are writing to you as a matter of urgency regarding the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on low income families, and specifically the imminent impact of school closures on children currently receiving free school meals. As you are aware, free school lunches can save a family with two children over £20 a week. With children having to stay at home from next week, the additional cost of providing lunch will be a significant, and in many cases unmanageable, financial pressure on families. Low income families are already struggling to make ends meet and free school meals play a vital role in relieving pressure on family budgets.
Building on the welcome support announced today by the Cabinet Secretary for Communities, we believe the most effective way to protect families from the additional pressure that loss of free school meals will create will be to make cash payments to families currently in receipt of free school meals.
We believe support in the face of the Covid-19 crisis must be provided in a way that gives families the choice and agency to meet their family's needs in this exceptional time. A cash payment in lieu of free school meals would be a dignified response, respectful of human rights and avoiding any potential stigma.
We believe there are various legal and payment mechanisms that should be explored to enable this to happen using the information and payment mechanisms currently used to register for free school meals and make school clothing grant payment, and the legal powers available to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. We would be very happy to discuss what approach would work most effectively; though there is an over-riding need for fast measures to be put in place.
We are keenly aware that this is just one of the many pressures families will face in the forthcoming weeks and that a cash payment in lieu of free school meals will need to be part of a far wider package to support families and protect children's wellbeing. However, we urge you to work together with local government to deliver this specific cash payment to support families with the additional cost of lunch during the period of school closure.
Yours sincerely,
John Dickie, Director of Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) in Scotland
Satwat Rehman, Director, One Parent Families Scotland
Sally Witcher, CEO, Inclusion Scotland
Peter Kelly, Director, Poverty Alliance
Emma Revie, Chief Executive, Trussell Trust
Most Rev Mark Strange, Bishop of Moray, Ross and Caithness and Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church
Derek Mitchell, Chief Executive, Citizens Advice Scotland
Jim McCormick, Associate Director for Scotland, Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Martin Crewe, Director, Barnado's Scotland
Very Rev Dr Susan Brown, Convener of the Faith Impact Forum, the Church of Scotland
Larry Flanagan, General Secretary, Educational Institute of Scotland
Claire Telfer, Head of Scotland, Save the Children
Mary Glasgow, Chief Executive, Children First
Jackie Brock, Chief Executive, Children in Scotland
Jamie Livingstone, Head of Oxfam Scotland
Bishop Nolan, President of Justice and Peace Scotland
Pete Ritchie, Executive Director, Nourish Scotland
Professor Ian Welsh OBE, Chief Executive, Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (the ALLIANCE)
Dr Neil Henery, Director, Camphill Scotland
Sally Ann Kelly, Chief Executive, Aberlour Child Care Trust
Norman Kerr, Director, Energy Action Scotland
Paul Carberry, National Director, Action for Children
Eileen Prior, Executive Director, Connect
Joanna Murphy, Chair, National Parent Forum of Scotland
Rev Dr David A Pickering, Moderator of The United Reformed Church National Synod of Scotland
Shaben Begum, Director, SIAA
Dr. Marsha Scott, Chief Executive Officer, Scottish Women’s Aid
Jane Brumpton, Chief Executive, Early Years Scotland
Frank Mosson, Bureau Manager, Bridgeton Citizens Advice Bureau
Easterhouse Housing & Regeneration Alliance
Tim Frew, Chief Executive, Youthlink Scotland
Juliet Harris, Director, Together Scotland
Sheila Gordon, Director – Children & Family Services, CrossReach
Douglas Guest, Acting Director for Scotland, Home-Start UK Scotland
Graeme McAlister, Chief Executive, Scottish Childminding Association
Marguerite Hunter Blair, Chief Executive, Play Scotland
Kate Wimpress, Chair, SURF - Scotland's Regeneration Forum
Craig Samuel, NAWRA Scotland Representative
Virginia Radcliffe, CEO, Licketyspit
Kirsten Cook, Affordable Warmth Team Manager, Changeworks
Anne Meikle, Scottish Women's Budget Group
Jimmy Wilson, CEO, FARE
Susan Archibald Disability Rights Activist, Archibald Foundation
Marie Ward, Cranhill Development Trust
Bernard Harris, Professor of Social Policy, University of Strathclyde
Prof. Stephen Sinclair, Scottish Poverty & Inequality Research Unit
Adrian Sinfield, Professor Emeritus of Social Policy, University of Edinburgh
Prof Morag Treanor, Heriot-Watt University
Professor Nick Watson, University of Glasgow
Dr Serena Pattaro, University of Glasgow
Dr Ruth Patrick, University of York
Dr Hayley Bennett, University of Edinburgh
Sharon Wright, University of Edinburgh
Suzanne Fitzpatrick, Director, Institute for Social Policy, Housing, and Equalities Research, Heriot-Watt University
Kat Smith, Professor of Public Health Policy, University of Strathclyde
Professor Mark Stephens, Director, The Urban Institute, Heriot-Watt University
Professor Glen Bramley, Professor of Urban Studies, Heriot-Watt University
Dr Jenny Wood, Research Associate, Heriot-Watt University
Angela O’Hagan, WISE Centre for Economic Justice at Glasgow Caledonian University