From our first day in office, Glasgow’s SNP city administration has prioritised support for low-income families, committing ourselves to making the political choices which address many of this city’s deep-rooted social and economic challenges.

Poor health and food insecurity have hung over far too many in Glasgow’s communities for generations. That’s why one of the first policies we introduced was to invest millions of pounds to ensure that children who miss out on free school meals during the summer holidays don’t go hungry.

More than 100,000 young Glaswegians have since then taken part in the pioneering Holiday Food and Activity Programme, a policy which makes a real difference on the frontline in city communities.

The benefits of reducing the risk of children going without food during the school breaks are many, not least helping lessen the worries many parents and carers have about feeding their children and keeping them active over the holiday period.

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Poor nutrition can be severely detrimental to a child’s ability to learn, another reason why we made sure Glasgow was at the forefront of the extension of free school meals. In advance of the Scottish Government further extending free meals to all primary pupils in the coming years, we’re making sure our schools are ready and have the capacity for the anticipated surge in uptake.

But now, piled on top of the impact of years of austerity and cuts to benefits, those households already struggling with low incomes are facing a whole new raft of financial pressures.

The cost-of-living crisis and food inflation are colliding with the realities of Brexit hitting home to increase food insecurity in Glasgow like at no time in recent decades. That is quite clearly having a detrimental impact on the health and wellbeing of ever more Glaswegians, including many in working households.

In 2023, no child in this city should be going hungry. Yet we know from a recent poll of young people that far too many are still going to either school or bed undernourished. Again, this is something that the council, with the levers and resources available to us, must help address.

In recent weeks, Unite the Union has launched its Feed the Weans campaign, alongside Debt Justice’s Together Against Debt. Both wish to see any debt accumulated by parents and carers over unpaid school meals wiped out and an assurance that any monies owed to schools are not a barrier to a pupil receiving a breakfast or lunch.

School meal debt hasn’t been a significant problem in Glasgow but as debt of all kinds becomes more and more of an issue, increasing numbers of families are struggling. My fear is that what has been a manageable issue could become a significant burden for those already experiencing or on the precipice of genuine hardship.

Clearly, with the wide range of powers and resources available to it, it is in the gift of the UK Government to step in and assist those families living with the dire consequences of its mismanagement and ideological attacks.

But this council has a responsibility to do what it can, and it is in our gift to consider how we address the issue of school meal debt.

At the time of writing, we’re actively exploring the best approach to doing this, including managing that within existing budgets. Resolving this issue will come down to political choices open to councillors and I hope in the days ahead to have clarity on how we can do that.

Furthermore, our approach to tackling this can, I believe, allow the council to offer families greater and wider support beyond the immediate issue. School meal debt is, in all likelihood, a symptom of deeper financial challenges within a household.

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Our Financial Inclusion teams have long known that the school setting is where the hardships facing families often emerge.

That’s why, as part of the council’s efforts to get to grips with the cost-of-living crisis, these teams have gone directly into schools, allowing them to offer the right advice and support where they are accessible.

Identifying those struggling with school meal debt would allow them to offer further positive interventions to those they have previously had no contact with.

And by getting this right here in Glasgow, we will be in a position to share our experiences and approaches with colleagues from councils across Scotland and put a halt to children going hungry in schools in the first place.

Next week, all 85 elected members in Glasgow will gather for Full Council to discuss, debate and decide upon a range of issues.

Plans to deal with school meal debt will be brought forward and I hope it is something all parties can get behind.