Private sector to oust Scots school caterers?

By David Shrimpton

In-house school meals caterers in Scotland could be forced to hand over some of their business to the private sector under proposals being looked at by local councils.

Glasgow City Council is planning to bring in private firms to finance urgently needed repairs to schools. It also needs to cut the number of secondary schools from 38 to 29 because of falling pupil numbers.

Some schools could be demolished, with private sector consortia brought in to design and build new ones. Under the last government's Private Finance Initiative, similar schemes in hospitals saw the private firms also awarded long-term contracts to provide on-site support services, including catering.

Fergus Chambers, director of catering and cleaning for Glasgow, said it was unclear whether the in-house team would be allowed to bid for the catering contracts in new or refurbished schools.

Falkirk council is planning a similar "public-private partnership" scheme to build four new secondary schools and one special school. Parents are being consulted on the plans and a deal could be signed by the end of March.

The 25-year contract to provide catering and cleaning at the newly built schoolslooks set to go to contractor Chartwells, which would take on the 35 catering staff under transfer of undertakings rules.

Falkirk council's catering manager, Charles Rough, said the schools involved accounted for 14% of his turnover.

He was more worried about Chartwells gaining local knowledge by taking over the five schools, putting them in a better position to win the contract for the rest of Falkirk when it next goes out to tender.

Rough said he understood that current law prevented the in-house team bidding for the work at the schools built with private finance. But he added: "We're still fighting our corner to change the legislation."