Khan’s free school meals plan could cost Lewisham schools £600k

The Mayor of London announced in February that all children in years three to six would get a free hot meal for one school year from September 2023. 

Labour’s Khan has set aside a one-off lump sum of £130 million to pay for the lunches, which will be given to approximately 270,000 kids aged from around seven to 11 across the capital.

But officials at Lewisham Council have warned the money on offer from City Hall will only cover £2.65 of the estimated £3 cost of each meal, forcing schools in the borough to make up the remaining 35p themselves.

With an estimated 9,000 pupils expected to take up the free lunches every day, Lewisham schools face having to foot a bill of just under £600,000 across the year to make up the difference, according to a council report dated May 15.

The £600,000 figure is based on every pupil in Lewisham having a free meal each day, but the report adds it is unlikely this would happen in practice. If 80 per cent of kids took a free lunch every day, the cost to schools would drop to £480,000. 

Many schools will find it “very difficult” to deal with the extra number of kids having meals.

The report warns: “Ovens, fridges, freezers, and dishwashers are purchased in line with current meal numbers and may not have the capacity to cope with the extra requirement. Storage would be required for the additional pots and pans, plates, and cutlery etc.

“Some schools with very small kitchens might struggle with having the space to accommodate this, not to mention space for extra staff if required. In addition, there are schools whose dining halls may not seat the number of children who would now take a school dinner.” 

Before central government introduced free school meals for all kids in reception, year one and year two in 2014, £3 million was invested in school kitchens to bring them up-to-date, the report notes.

But City Hall has informed London councils that no cash will be available to fund upgrades to school catering facilities before the introduction of free primary school meals in September. 

Lewisham Council will put £620,000 towards new kitchen equipment for primary schools in the borough before the roll-out of the free school meals scheme in September.

Academies in Lewisham will not benefit from the money as they’re outside council control.

Damien Egan, Labour mayor of Lewisham, approved the extra cash in a last-minute decision on May 15, bypassing normal council procedures.

The council said time restraints imposed by Khan meant it couldn’t follow normal decision making rules. 

A spokesperson for the mayor of London said: “The mayor is providing an emergency £130m to provide free school meals to primary school pupils in the capital for the next academic year due to the impact of the spiralling cost of living on families and the government’s failure to act.

“Following discussions with partners including councils and schools, it has been proposed that £2.65 will be provided per meal – almost 10 per cent more than the government currently funds free school meals [universal infant free school meals].

“The mayor’s team is working closely with schools, councils and partners to finalise the finer details of this unprecedented funding, explore any potential challenges around capacity and share best practice to support boroughs and schools.”