[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$f10b3rz2z388kj":3,"$f3py3sabm16crp":17},{"id":4,"blog_author_id":5,"blog_category_id":6,"is_featured":7,"title":8,"slug":9,"content":10,"content_overview":11,"published_at":12,"seo_title":8,"seo_description":13,"image":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":16},"01m5fanaffkxrzkrpj1x4keag4","9cdbdd6d-4900-4646-a012-d3e67a5ee788","01j303dmcc6n6900v73fs88bc7",false,"Right to Food Commission supports Aberlour's Call to End School Meal Debt","right-to-food-commission-supports-aberlours-call","\u003Cp>School meal debt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Three words that should never be uttered in the same sentence\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Children bearing the burden and stigma of debt should shame any society.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And yet, here in Scotland that is what we saw happening for thousands of children and their families around the country.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For many high school children having a negative balance on their parent pay account would mean being unable to access a meal at school.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>School meal debt and hidden school hunger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two sides of the same coin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No matter what side that coin lands on it would still show how badly we have failed many of Scotland’s most disadvantaged children.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That is why at Aberlour we were compelled to do something about it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To make sure we stood beside those children and their families and to call for something to change – urgently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We wanted to make sure we saw an \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.aberlour.org.uk\u002Fabout-us\u002Fpolicy-and-influencing\u002Fpublic-debt\u002Fschool-meal-debt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">end to school meal debt and hidden school hunger for good\u003C\u002Fa>.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In 2023 we urged the then First Minister, Humza Yusaf, to act.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To bring an end to the shameful practice of children and their families being chased by debt collectors for school meal debt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>School meal debt is a symptom of families not having enough money to provide the very basics for their children.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fundamentally, it is about a lack of income.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We welcomed the introduction of a one-off School Meal Debt Fund to write off outstanding debt for one year.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But we were clear that was not enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Our evidence shows that the majority of children with school meal debt are from low-income working families who do not qualify for free school meals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, along with writing off the debt for struggling families, we called for the expansion of Free School Meals to all low-income families across Scotland to help prevent school meal debt in the first place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Again, we welcomed John Swinney’s subsequent commitment to continuing the School Meal Debt Fund for a further year to write off nearly £3 million of school meal debt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Figures show that this benefitted 70,000 children and their families across Scotland over the last two years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A welcome relief for many, but still a limited intervention without a long-term solution.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Our campaign to end school meal debt has continued up to and during the recent Scottish Parliament elections.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Last year we also published evidence that pointed to the extent of school meal debt for children and their families in England.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What our research suggested was that around 1 in 4 children not eligible for free school meals in England had regular or persistent school meal debt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And so we called on the UK Government to act and follow Scotland’s lead by taking action to end school meal debt for children across the rest of the UK.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This week saw the launch of the independent UK Right to Food Commission report and findings following their work to evidence the scale of food insecurity across the UK.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Commission’s report provides a roadmap and clear actions all governments across the UK must take to end food insecurity for all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This includes ending school meal debt for good for all children the length of the country, from Aberdeen to Aberystwyth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Scotland, the SNP made a commitment during the Scottish Parliamentary election campaign to end school meal debt once and for all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That manifesto pledge was then followed by the First Minister announcing that families struggling with school meal debt would continue to be helped by committing the same level of investment again this year to write that debt off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time this will happen alongside the further expansion of Free School Meals in primary schools.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The urgent measure and a preventative solution.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There is much more the First Minister must do to make real progress on his ambition to “eradicate child poverty”.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this is one example that the rest of the UK can follow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Making sure no child ever again is burdened with debt or goes hungry at school would be a quick win for Andy Burnham, to show his commitment to tackling food insecurity by ending school meal debt in every postcode.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp> \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Martin Canavan\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Head of Policy & Influencing \u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>",null,"2026-10-21T00:00:00.000000Z","Aberlour Children's Charity's Head of Policy & Influencing, Martin Canavan, shares what must be done to end school meal debt and hidden hunger in schools for good. He shares what has been done in Scotland and what must be done in England.","media\u002Fshared image.jpg","2026-10-21T13:33:25.000000Z","2026-10-22T08:11:54.000000Z",{"id":18,"author_id":5,"category_id":11,"is_featured":19,"title":20,"slug":21,"content":22,"link_text":11,"link":11,"content_overview":11,"published_at":23,"seo_title":20,"seo_description":24,"image":25,"attachment":26,"created_at":27,"updated_at":28},"01m0ws1d8qzcs8hxeym9ejq1m3",0,"Aberlour's response to the Scottish Parliament's Public Service Reform Committee Pre-Budget scrutiny call for views","aberlours-response-to-the-scottish-parliaments-public-service-reform","\u003Cp>We welcome the opportunity to respond to the Scottish Parliament's Public Service Reform Committee Pre-Budget scrutiny call for views on public service reform, and to share our view on how such reform can be progressed through efficiencies and preventative budgeting. In 2011 \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.scot\u002Fpublications\u002Fcommission-future-delivery-public-services\u002F\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Christie Commission\u003C\u002Fa> set out a clear direction for how best Scotland could deliver early, preventative help and support rooted in place-based, public service delivery that works for people and communities. In Scotland there is no shortage of understanding or evidence of what this should look like, but over the last fifteen years we have failed to implement such changes at the scale or with the sustained investment required to transform how public services are commissioned, funded and delivered to meet this ambition.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Delivering good public services is essential to creating a fairer and more equal society. If our ambition is to ensure Scotland’s public services meet the needs of all of our citizens and communities then that requires the necessary investment. Our public services must be driven by a clear understanding of what works and what people and communities themselves feel will meet their needs and improve their lives. This means services must be accessible, flexible and adaptable, rather than people and communities having to fit into the services and systems we have created.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Effective public service delivery must be rooted in a rights-based approach, providing early help and support as an entitlement (not a privilege or ‘luxury’) as and when people need it, helping to prevent challenges in their lives escalating into crises. Incorporation of the UNCRC insists that the human rights of Scotland’s children and young people must be respected, protected and fulfilled, including through public services that uphold and deliver those rights.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The third sector currently plays a critical (although often unrecognised) role in the delivery of public services alongside the public sector, particularly across health, education and social work services. However, the third sector cannot continue to act as a key partner in public service delivery if inadequate budgets and funding result in services no longer being sustainable. Scotland’s public sector and third sector need to deliver together to reach all children and families who need support in the way that they need it, for as long as they need it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Public service reform must ensure our public services are informed by, aligned with and contribute to Scotland’s identified national priorities on ending child poverty, Keeping The Promise, reducing drugs harm, and responding to Scotland’s housing emergency. This means public services doing things differently, as the status quo is clearly not working. By ensuring a holistic approach to better connect public services to help meet the needs of Scotland’s communities, Scotland can better align our public sector bodies, agencies and services with shared policy aims on tackling child poverty, supporting families and creating public services that work for our citizens and help to meet those national priorities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Faberlour-web-admin.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com\u002Fdocs\u002FAberlour%20Response%20to%20Scot%20Parl%20PSR%20Committee%20Call%20for%20Views%20Aug%2026%20(FINAL).pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read our response\u003C\u002Fa>.\u003C\u002Fp>","2026-08-25 11:31:57","Aberlour Children's Charity's response to the Scottish Parliament's Public Service Reform Committee Pre-Budget scrutiny call for views","media\u002F01M0WS1D456CTW20R3MSNF25HY.jpg","docs\u002FAberlour Response to Scot Parl PSR Committee Call for Views Aug 26 (FINAL).pdf","2026-08-25T15:36:19.000000Z","2026-08-25T15:38:27.000000Z"]