Hot meals in schools face Edinburgh axe
Scotland's second biggest council may end school meals for primary pupils as part of a wide range of proposed cuts.
Edinburgh Council is considering a proposal to replace hot meals for primary and special schools with a packed lunch and a cold drink as part of a bid to reduce its budget by £27.8m.
Last year, the authority's Labour group agreed not to go ahead with contentious plans to end hot meals in schools, but the issue has been raised again.
Edinburgh Catering Services is fighting the move, which it says will lead to 300 redundancies. It has proposed an alternative scheme whereby kitchens would close in smaller schools and food be transported in from the larger ones. But manager of the service Carol McGhie admitted this would not achieve the savings the council required.
McGhie said of the proposals: "We have offered eight years of good, efficient service. The council will lose these workers' expertise and craft skills forever if they get rid of them."