A council has apologised after threatening to refuse to serve school meals to primary school children if their parents ran up debts of as little as £10.50.
Angus council said that it was sorry for the distress caused by the strong wording of a letter, sent out to parents this month, in which a head teacher said “lunches will not be provided” if there was a small debt on an account.
Although the warning, sent to parents of children at Inverbrothock Primary School in Arbroath, said lunch orders would be “cancelled” for children until a balance was cleared, the council said that it would “ensure no child goes without a lunchtime meal”.
The council had confirmed that its position applied to all its schools. However, it issued a more conciliatory statement yesterday. A spokesman said: “The online payment system, recently introduced in Angus schools, gives parents and carers an easier and more secure way to pay for school meals. We have set a threshold of £10.50 on the school meal system.
“The purpose of the letter issued was to remind parents or carers of that £10.50 threshold, however, we accept that the wording has caused some concern. We apologise for any distress.”