6th Oct 2008 - 00:00
Abstract
Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond has accused local authorities of 'kicking up a fuss' after it emerged that some of Scotland's biggest councils cannot fund the free school meals scheme that was announced last week.
As many as half of Scotland's councils (16) have said they simply cannot find the money needed to provide free school dinners for infant primary pupils. Those councils include the City of Edinburgh, East Renfrewshire and West Dunbartonshire. Alex Salmond, the Scottish National Party (SNP) leader told BBC Scotland: "There's huge enthusiasm in many councils to get on with it and the ones that are kicking up a fuss are doing it for political reasons. It's a case of the Labour Party quite literally wanting to take food out of the mouths of children and I don't think the public is going to stand for it." Scottish Labour has attacked Mr Salmond's comments calling them misguided and accused him of avoiding the real picture. Iain Gray, the Scottish Labour leader said: "This is a huge gaffe by Alex Salmond. It is clear that 50% of councils say they can't afford this policy without extra funds including four councils with SNP members as part of the leadership. His misguided attack on Labour shows his desperation in trying to dodge the blame for his government's education failures. "The fact is Labour will back the policy if the money is provided to pay for it. Alex Salmond's comments are shameful and he should apologise to the councillors across Scotland who are simply telling the truth about the con in the SNPs concordat. Only three councils have so far said that they can afford this policy and Mr Salmond's attack on the rest is unwarranted and small minded."