Concerns over funding to target school holiday hunger in West Dunbartonshire

dailyrecord.co.uk:

There is no funding to help feed children in need during school holidays, West Dunbartonshire councillors have been told.Hundreds of local kids relied on handout meals this summer with the council spending £100,000 on a package of support that will continue to run for the next two summers.But during a recent education meeting it was revealed there is no additional money to combat hunger during the October, Christmas or Easter breaks.Councillor Clare Steel said: “I am concerned that there has been no funding this year from the Scottish Government to support the holiday programmes and I suppose the money, the £100,000 our service put in from the cost of living group, all that money has been spent on the summer programmes?“Can I just confirm there is no [meal support for] the October week, Christmas and Easter as well.”A council officer confirmed that, at the time of the meeting that was the position the local authority was in.Fellow Labour councillor Fiona Hennebry added: “I would also like to note my concern as we go into the October week, Christmas and Easter holidays that the Scottish Government has not come forward with any funding for this.“It is extremely disappointing given the levels of deprivation and poverty within West Dunbartonshire and across Scotland as a whole.”The Scottish Government responded by saying that more than £20m was made available to local authorities across the country.In 2023, cash-strapped West Dunbartonshire Council agreed to continue supporting the Holiday Hunger Fund to ensure the provision of free meals and social activities for school children over holiday periods, throughout the area.This year families across the area benefited from a record number of free summer holiday activities and