Education, Children and Young People Committee [Draft]

Meeting date: Wednesday, March 6, 2024

Official Report 623KB pdf

Subordinate Legislation

Education (Scotland) Act 1980 (Modification) Regulations 2024 (SSI 2024/40)

Good morning, and welcome to the eighth meeting of the Education, Children and Young People Committee in 2024. We have received apologies from Michelle Thomson.

Our first item of business is consideration of a Scottish statutory instrument under the negative procedure. The regulations make several amendments to the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 and will increase the current maximum annual income level for eligibility for free school meals from £8,717 to £9,552 to take account of the forthcoming increase to the national living wage from 1 April 2024.

Do members wish to make any comments about the regulations?

I am slightly disappointed that we need to consider the regulations, on the basis that free school meals should be getting delivered across primary 1 to primary 7 already, as the Government set out that it would do. Nonetheless, it is sensible that, in the interim, while we wait for the Government to come good on that commitment, we proceed with this uprating, which is important.

It would have been useful had the SSI been used to encourage schools to reach out to families in a more proactive way to find those families who may need the support that free school meals can offer. Other than that, I have no further comment.

Before I proceed any further, I welcome Stuart McMillan to the meeting, as a substitute for Michelle Thomson. Good morning, Stuart.

Is the committee agreed that it does not wish to make any recommendations in relation to the instrument?

Members indicated agreement.

Thank you very much, everyone.