School meals: Derbyshire County Council to debate price increase after 7,500 sign petition

The petition was launched by Labour Councillor Joan Dixon in July as a response to a 41% increase in meal prices in Derbyshire schools.

The decision left parents in shock with many saying they would be forced to switch to packed lunches from September if prices go up by 95p to £3.25 per day. This is above the national average cost of £2.65 per meal per child.

As the petition, which closed on September 14, had thousands of signatures it has left the council with no other option but to look into the issue again.

A Derbyshire County Council spokesperson said: “As there are more than 7,500 signatures on the petition, the issues it raises will now be a motion for debate by council. A date has yet to be set for this, but it will most likely be at the next meeting of council scheduled for 29 November.”

However, Derbyshire County Council Cabinet Member for Education Councillor Alex Dale still believes that the pay increase is justified and should stay in place.

Cllr Dale said: “The decision to increase meal prices was an incredibly difficult one which we made very reluctantly, given the pressures we know families across the county are facing with the cost of living.

“Although this year’s increase may seem like a lot in one go, this is largely due to the fact that we have started from a much lower base, at £2.30, than many other authorities. We have worked extremely hard to keep our prices down, freezing them in five out of the past eight years and we are constantly striving to make the service more efficient.

“With food inflation having reached the heights of 19%, the costs of our ingredients are soaring and last year’s local government pay award alone left a £1.28m hole in our budget.

“If not addressed, these challenges threaten to make the service unsustainable in the future, meaning we’d no longer be able to serve healthy, nutritious, hot meals to Derbyshire pupils and the jobs of 1,500 hardworking and valued employees would be at risk."