North Lanarkshire Council Leader hits out at funding cut for Club 365 programme

dailyrecord.co.uk:

The leader of North Lanarkshire Council has expressed frustration at the Scottish Government's decision to cease funding summer activity programmes for schools.Councillor Jim Logue had been scheduled to chair an item on the council's Club 365 programme, which is designed to ensure children have access to free meals between terms, and also the planned activities for children with additional support needs, at a recent meeting.Instead, he said that this had been "overtaken by recent developments", as the council was informed of this decision by COSLA on Wednesday".The Lanarkshire Live app is available to download now.

Get all the news from your area – as well as features, entertainment, sport and the latest on Lanarkshire’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic – straight to your fingertips, 24/7.The free download features the latest breaking news and exclusive stories, and allows you to customise your page to the sections that matter most to you.Head to the App Store and never miss a beat in Lanarkshire - iOS - Android He continued: "The lateness of being advised of this is totally reprehensible as we had all the programmes established and there was an awareness of them."The Scottish Government last year gave £10 million to all authorities and North Lanarkshire was the recipient of £765,000."In the absence of £765,000 we need to re-evaluate what we can do during the summer.

We no longer have funding for both Club 365 and ASN summer programmes."I appreciate that this will cause considerable anxiety and distress to the parents of ASN children."Councillor Logue proposed that the council assure parents it would proceed with its ASN activities, while the rest of the report be deferred to the full council on June 22.Councillor