An emergency £1.5 million fund has been opened to clear school meal debts across Scotland as part of First Minister John Swinney’s ambition to “eradicate” child poverty.

The support will be allocated to local authorities to apply and the scheme will cover school meal debt accrued to March 31 this year.

Mr Swinney said the move will help ensure children are not penalised for the challenges in paying for school meals because of the cost-of-living crisis.

School meal debt is a matter for councils, however the Scottish Government has said the one-off cash will be available to remove the impact of the debt.

It is estimated school meal debt stands at around £1.8 million across the country, according to the Aberlour Children’s Charity.

Pupils in P1 to P5 receive free school meals, as do all children in special schools, and additional investment will see the provision extended to P6 and P7 children whose families receive the Scottish child payment in the 2024-25 year.

With the First Minister stating his main ambition is to “eradicate” child poverty, he said: “I am pleased that we are continuing progress to ensure that no child or their family is penalised for struggling to pay for a school meal during a cost-of-living crisis they did not create.

“School meal debt can have a real impact on the wellbeing of families and can serve to stigmatise children whose families are going through challenging times. Local authorities can now bid to receive funding from a one-off Scottish Government fund which will support them to remove the impact of school meal debt.

“As a result of a decade-and-a-half of austerity and a cost-of-living crisis caused by the UK Government, too many families are struggling to make ends meet – and my Government will take all the action we can to support them.

“I am determined that we support our children to have the best start in life, that is why we are expanding free school meal provision to ensure every pupil can have a nutritious meal at school and ensuring no child is penalised simply because their family is struggling.”

The Scottish Government has previously committed to extending free school meals to every child in Scotland, including a pilot for secondary school pupils.