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Will politicians take salary cut to pay for free school meals for all?
ISLINGTON could become the first place in the country where every child under the age of 11 – regardless of their family’s financial circumstances – can get free school dinners.
In a new policy aimed at giving parents a financial break during the tough economic climate, Labour councillors are pressing for the national first.
But their demands have opened up a fierce financial row at the Town Hall with Liberal Democrat council leader Councillor James Kempton warning that residents will not want to pay for lunches for “rich people’s kids”.
His hands, however, might be tied as the precarious balance of power in Islington could be exploited by rivals in one of the key issues of this year’s budget process.
Labour could get its way if Green councillor Katie Dawson and rebel Lib Dem councillor Andrew Cornwell support the move. The plans, which would begin to be introduced from September, would see free meals extended from the 5,838 children currently receiving them to nearly 14,000 pupils.
It would cost £3million a year but it could be made possible if savings, including cuts to councillors’ wages and the Town Hall’s PR budget, are approved.
Cllr Cornwell said: “I have long supported the principle of expanding free school meals, provided the meals themselves are of a healthy content. The new school meals contract, introduced by the Lib Dems, has been a big success in Islington and the benefits should be extended to more pupils.
“Obviously, the cost needs to be affordable. Other savings will have to be found to pay for it.”
Cllr Dawson has given the plans cautious support but said she would be asking a lot of questions, adding: “It’s definitely on the table but we need to do a bit of negotiating.”
This is a sign of the new political atmosphere at the Town Hall where the Lib Dems can no longer guarantee that their spending plans will be ratified.
Cllr Kempton said: “Why should council taxpayers subsidise rich people’s kids?”
His colleague, Lib Dem cabinet member Councillor Paula Belford, is also cautious but backs a compromise deal to raise the means-testing threshold so parents in the £15,000-£18,000 income bracket qualify for free meals.
She said: “It would be great to give everybody that needs it free school meals. The problem lies with people earning between £15,000 and £18,000. Many of them aren’t entitled but the government still says they are below the poverty line.”
The plans have had a mixed reaction from headteachers, who want assurances the money won’t come from education budgets.
Barrie O’Shea, headteacher of Duncombe Primary School, in Upper Holloway, and chairman of Islington Schools Forum, said: “As long as the quality and standard were maintained, in principle it would be wonderful. There are a lot of parents who find they don’t quite meet the criteria and struggle quite hard and it would assist them.”
He added that school funding was linked to the number of pupils on free school dinners and that he would not want this data to be affected.
Sue Seifert, headteacher of Montem Primary School in Holloway, said: “It’s a great idea that every child should get a free lunch.”
Neil Porter, national chairman for the Local Authority Caterers Association, said: “We would definitely support this approach. The benefits of providing hot meals is that it gets children into the culture of eating traditionally around a table, learning table manners and eating hot meals.”
London Metropolitan University nutrition expert Professor Jack Winkler said: “Price is a major disincentive to taking up school meals and it’s about to get worse. This is not a cheap exercise but it’s quite important, particularly in a borough like Islington.”
Budget decisions are due to be discussed next month.
TOWN Hall Lib Dem leader Councillor James Kempton could be forced to take a huge £18,000 pay cut in an effort to fight the credit crunch.
His team of seven ruling cabinet members could also see their annual entitlements slashed amid fierce budget discussions as the Lib Dems come to terms with the new political reality of a finely balanced council.
Cllr Kempton is infuriated at being asked to consider dropping his pay from £68,736 – described as “excessive” by rivals – to £50,000. He warned that members of his team could be forced to take on part-time jobs to make up for the loss in income.
The cuts, which would include a major reduction in expenses for those who chair committees, could save the Town Hall up to £200,000 a year. The Labour opposition, which is calling for the savings, would like to see that money spent on providing more free school meals.
Cllr Kempton said a substantial cut in cabinet members’ salaries – the proposal would see senior councillors’ pay fall from £45,000 to £35,000 – would result in many of them having to work only part-time on council duties.
“This is the situation in many parts of London,” he added. “If your mortgage and current outgoings are based on your current salary, which is being reduced, you might have to look for another job to make up the difference.
“Many of our team dropped their income dramatically from what they could earn outside local government when they were elected. Being an executive member is a full-time job.”
He added: “We used to have the highest allowances in London but we haven’t taken any increases since the last local elections and we have fallen behind. Many councillors have other jobs, otherwise they couldn’t survive.
“There is a need for careful decisions and policies in the current climate. Is this the right time for a highly skilled and talented team of executive members to be working part-time?”
But Labour group leader Councillor Catherine West believes every elected member should “feel the pain” to some degree. She added: “We’re proposing to cut their salaries by £10,000 so that they are in line with the average in London, which is about £30,000.”
Green councillor Katie Dawson said: “We know executive members can make up a massive salary for themselves by being in charge of a department but I believe that for the executive members to do the job properly it must be full-time.”
Lib Dem councillor Andrew Cornwell, who has resigned the party whip, said he had been campaigning to cut councillors’ allowances since 2006.
He added: “The leader of Camden earns £37,000 and the leader of Islington should be able to cope with the same.”
Top-up: Who gets what
All councillors receive an annual entitlement of £10,198 to cover expenses, including travel, weekend work and late-night meetings.
Eight Lib Dem cabinet members receive an extra payment of £35,075 annually for the full-time nature of the job, bringing them to a total of £45,273.
Islington’s executive members are among the highest paid in London. Hackney executive councillors get just £13,000 top-up on their basic entitlements, those in Camden get £15,000 and in Haringey £22,000.
Labour are also calling for cuts to expenses for those, including their own members, who chair committee meetings.
For example, the chair of the overview committee gets £18,371 on top of the basic allowance for about 10 meetings. The scrutiny chair receives £14,744 and area committee chairs get £6,122 annually for 12 monthly meetings. |
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