A row sparked by council budget proposals to charge primary schools to cover the cost of children bringing in sandwiches continues to roll on.
It began when Plaid Cymru councillor, and South Wales East AM, Lindsay Whittle claimed there was a real possibility that parents could be left to pick up the cost – dubbed the “sandwich tax”.
The story provoked a huge backlash on social media from worried parents and was even picked up by the national press.
The ruling Labour group angrily denied the claims and said Plaid were making political capital off the back of children’s education.
Cllr Rhianon Passmore, Labour’s Cabinet Member for Education and Assembly candidate for Islwyn, said there was no proposal to charge pupils to eat sandwiches in schools.
She said: “This nonsense is disingenuous and misleading at best. Sadly such claims will undoubtedly cause extra worry and stress for hard-pressed parents and their children. This is wrong.
“It is concerning that a regional list Assembly Member has decided to make such futile claims at this time off the back of our own school children.”
Council Leader Keith Reynolds described the claim as a “deliberate misrepresentation of the facts”.
He said: “There is no proposal from Caerphilly Council to charge parents for their children to eat sandwiches for lunch at Caerphilly’s schools. In fact, at a time of ever-deeper Tory Westminster cuts to councils’ budgets, our Labour-led council is set to invest an extra £1.9 million in our county borough’s schools.”
Caerphilly County Borough Council’s Interim Chief Executive Chris Burns took the rare step of intervening in a political row.
He said: “There is not and never has been any intention to impose a charge on parents for their children taking sandwiches to school.
“Indeed, it is a fundamental right of parents to determine their child’s meal options, and we simply couldn’t and wouldn’t ask parents to pay a financial contribution for such a thing.”
He added: “We are very concerned that some parents may be worried by what they have read, and would like to reiterate that it simply is not the case.”
However, Plaid Cymru have insisted they were right to bring up the issue.
Cllr Colin Mann, Plaid Cymru group leader, said: “Let’s be perfectly clear. The Labour council wants to charge 75 schools for those children who bring in sandwiches. That’s a tax in my book.
“I know as a school governor that schools are extremely hard-pressed financially at present and a lot of long-serving teachers are being invited and encouraged to apply for voluntary early retirement or risk compulsory redundancy. So, by imposing this charge the Labour council will make things even more difficult for our schools.”
The charge is set to save £102,000 from the council’s 2016/17 budget.
If schools do not pay the charge, catering staff will have their hours cut to achieve the saving.
A council report, approved by Cabinet on February 17, also suggests that schools unwilling to pay the charge could use their own dinner supervisors to set-up table places for pupils with sandwiches.
The council’s budget for 2016/17 will now be presented at a meeting of full council on Wednesday, February 24.
That`s round four to Labour then?.
Why on earth the Welsh Nationalist on the Council fail to understand that Labour are in Control and they, The Welsh Nationalist, civic duty is to scrutinise the `doings` of the labour administration the better, but to be an `affective` opposition, a party of scrutiny, `meaningful`, and, people the residents of the borough can trust and respect, they have to be `honest`, and they have to be `factual` in the way they undertake their civic duty on our behalf, ( They get paid by us to do so).
Why on earth create a potential problem where none exists,? The Leader of the Council has said that NO CHARGES WILL BE MADE TO PARENTS UNDER THESE PROPOSALS, The Cabinet Member for Education has said so, even, remarkably, The Council`s Chief Executive has said so. The Welsh Nationalist appear to have created a problem for residents WHERE NON EXISTS. That is NOT the stuff of responsible Governance, and these same people are seeking our support to Govern Wales. They should be honest, they should admit they got it wrong, and they should move on and TRY to regain respect as responsible politicians.
Little wonder education in Wales is the worst in the U.K, those responsible should be ashamed.
Paul; Is that. ashamed for “concocting” the fear if a fiscal penalty? which did not and does not exist, or, ashamed for What?
Ashamed of the poor level of education in Wales, they’re having some petty argument over who made up what about some ridiculous sandwich tax which is frankly absurd – as if a parent would actually pay such a thing, no they’d tell the school to stick it where the sun doesn’t shine. The useless lot should be more concerned about the shocking level of education in Wales and trying to do something about it, and it’s no good dumming down the grades so ever pupil gets an A star for simply turning up, and it’s also no good sticking their heads in the sand and blaming it all on the evil Tories in Westminster like they do with everything that’s wrong with Wales.
There is something in what you say, but, it is not being improved at all by senior politicians getting it so wrong. `Sandwich Tax indeed. absolute nonsence.
http://www.caerphillyobserver.co.uk/news/955544/caerphilly-council-proposes-sandwich-tax-in-primary-schools/) reads,
‘The report also notes that the introduction of a “sandwich tax” could force more pupils to have school lunches:
“This proposal could lead to pupils losing the option of bringing sandwiches meals to school and have the potential to increase school lunch take up.”
If this stupid idea leads to the REMOVAL OF THE OPTION to take sandwiches to school AND the government is to end free school meal grants for primary schools. – http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/government-quietly-ends-free-school-meal-grants-for-nearly-3000-primary-schools-a6862386.html …what then for families already struggling and unable to afford school meals???
How about this: Cllrs, Mp’s, Officers, etc., stop eating at the tax payers expense, No council banquets, buffets, free lunches, no breakfasts and NO SARNIES EITHER! You have more than enough bread. Cut that!
What `Sandwich Tax` is that??
Your last paragraph however is spot on the mark. and is currently a disgrace. The Trough gets bigger and bigger.
I’m more concerned about the potential threat of the REMOVAL OF THE OPTION to take sandwiches to school and was quoting Caerphilly Observers words when I referred to a “sandwich tax”.
The proposal is first on the list here – http://www.caerphilly.gov.uk/CaerphillyDocs/Council-and-democracy/Caerphilly_budget_challenge_summary.aspx
Introduce charge to Schools for the setting up of sandwich places.
You are quite right to be concerned but I think this council officer generated piece of foolishness is a dead duck. As I have mentioned in other posts I cannot understand what “setting up a sandwich place” means nor can I see there being any cost associated when a child eats their own sandwich, pie, wrap, pasta salad or any other food item they take to school.
What `Sandwich Tax` is that??
Your last paragraph however is on the mark.