FREE meals for schoolchildren every day of the year are long overdue and proposals must go further, a group of opposition councillors have claimed.

North Lanarkshire Council will next week discuss expanding food provision outwith the school term in a pilot aimed at low-income households.

It is estimated that the Food 365 scheme could cost £500,000 a year, with community buildings and leisure facilities used to help tackle “holiday hunger” on the 175 days when classes do not meet.

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This includes both weekends and school holidays.

Councillor Frank McNally, education convener at the local authority, which is led by a Labour-Tory administration, said the plans are “the most ambitious in the country”.

Referring to the UK’s biggest food bank network, he went on: “Groups like the Trussell Trust are struggling to cope with demand from parents and research has suggested that pressure on food banks doubles during the holidays.

“North Lanarkshire has one of the highest concentrations of deprivation in the country and this is only going to be exacerbated by further welfare reforms.

“A good diet plays a key role in healthy growth and development, supporting learning and social skills, and sets a positive habit to be continued later in life.

“Our plans will do much to promote healthy eating and to address some of the symptoms of poverty for children who need it most.”

More than 20 per cent of youngsters in the region live in low-income households.

If approved, those living in Coatbridge could receive the free meals as soon as the Easter holidays, with the initiative potentially rolling out to 23 “hubs” across North Lanarkshire by the time schools break up for the summer.

Councillor Tom Johnston, education spokesperson for the opposing SNP group, welcomed the move.

However, he said his party had been pushing for such action for 15 years, stating: “I am delighted that this council has finally agreed with the SNP position that children shouldn’t go hungry simply because the schools are closed for holidays.

“As far back as 2003 the SNP proposed to introduce this very policy, which was blocked at the time by the majority Labour administration – which of course included the current Labour leader Jim Logue.

“The SNP will support this proposal but we will amend it to go further and reverse the Labour decision to cut breakfast clubs from this summer.

“Our proposal will commit this council not only to continuing breakfast clubs, but extending them from August to cover every primary school in North Lanarkshire.”

John Dickie of the Child Poverty Action Group welcomed the plan, but cautioned that it must be delivered sensitively to avoid stigma to those being supported.

He said: “It’s really important that healthy free holiday lunches are offered as part of a wider package of holiday activities.

“Every effort should be made to avoid the risk of stigmatising holiday provision, for example by making sure it is open to those who pay for school lunches too and isn’t promoted purely as a feeding programme.”

Tory education spokeswoman Liz Smith MSP also urged caution over the costs of the 365-day provision, stating: “Delivering free school meals for low-income families for every day of the year may be a noble objective but it is undoubtedly expensive if each child is to have a nutritious meal.

“Hopefully the council has carefully considered all its options and explained to parents how it will be paying for this service.”