Early learning and childcare providers - local authority funding and support: overview

Annex B: Summary of funding arrangements for delivery of free meals

• Table B1 sets out information provided by local authorities on the payments made to funded providers in the private, third and childminding sectors to deliver the free meal commitment for those children receiving funded ELC.
• Funding to deliver this commitment is additional to the sustainable rate and local authorities must ensure that they are transparent as to the funding being provided to private, third and childminding sector providers for the delivery of the free meal commitment.
• Local authorities either provide this funding as a separate payment per meal or as a 'top-up' to the sustainable rate.

Table B1: Overview of funding for settings delivering free meals to children receiving funded ELC

Aberdeen City

• £2.75 per meal.

Aberdeenshire

• £2.50 per meal.
• Aberdeenshire Council also provided meals directly to funded providers that do not have their own kitchen or resources to make meals.

Angus

• Rate of £3 per meal.
• Angus will pay for up to 6 meals a week per eligible child receiving funded ELC during the 38 weeks of term, and 5 meals per week for children spreading their funded entitlement over 39 or more weeks per year.
• A top-up to the sustainable rate of £0.10 per hour for snacks.

Argyll and Bute

• £3.11 per meal.
• The Council mainly provide the meal and not the funding as many funded providers are not equipped to provide the meal and it would only serve to further increase their costs and overheads.

Clackmannanshire

• £3 per day in 2020-21 for eligible children.
• From session 2021-22 a top-up of £0.50 will be added to the sustainable rate for private nurseries and childminders for meals.

Dumfries and Galloway

• £1.77 per meal.
• This rate is a cash payment to funded providers, but they can choose to have meals provided by the Council.

Dundee City

• £2.10 per session.
• If funded sessions extend over 52 weeks per year, then a payment is made for every day a child attends. This is to align with the provision of a free meal in Local Authority extended year settings where sessions are offered across 49 weeks.

East Ayrshire

• £3.00 per meal.
• Two funded providers have their meals delivered from the Council's catering facilities.

East Dunbartonshire

• £3.00 per meal.

East Lothian

• £3 per child per meal.

East Renfrewshire

• £3 per child for daily food will be made as part of an addition to the hourly rate for funded providers from August 2021.

Edinburgh

• £3.00 per meal.

Falkirk

• From August 2021 £0.37 per hour will be added to the hourly rate to cover meals and snacks.

Fife

• The hourly rate is topped up by an additional £0.38 per hour to cover the free meal commitment.

Glasgow City

• £3.00 per child per meal.
• From August 2021 Glasgow City are funding one meal per half day session up to a maximum of 5 meals per week.
• This means that the child accessing their 1140 hours over 3 full days receives the same amount of funded food provision as the child accessing over 5 half days.
• A provider offering a child a 10 hour day session would now receive £6.00 – i.e. two meals across the day.

Highland

• Existing payment process of £2.30 per meal is being reviewed as with rates.

Inverclyde

• £3 for each meal.
• Not all funded providers were able to provide meals since August 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions. All providers are on track to deliver meals from August 2021.

Midlothian

• £0.40 per hour is added to the hourly rate to cover the free meal commitment.

Moray

• £2.35 per meal.

North Ayrshire

• £3 per meal to funded providers in the private and third sector (£2.50 per meal for childminders).
• The Council delivers the meals to around 50% of funded providers.

North Lanarkshire

• £3 per meal.
• A small number of funded providers, that do not have their own kitchen or resources, receive hot meals directly for NLC Facility Support Service.

Orkney Islands

• There will be a top-up to the sustainable rate to cover meals.
• From August 2021, the Council will be paying for meals taken at the childminders where the child stays all day. For split placements meals will be taken either at the local authority nursery or at the childminder.

Perth and Kinross

• £2.80 per meal.

Renfrewshire

• £3 per meal.

Scottish Borders

• £2.30 per meal.
• The amount paid for lunches for 2021-22 is being increased to £2.40.

Shetland Islands

• £1.80 per meal currently, increasing to £1.83 per meal from August 2021.
• Meals are provided by local authority school canteens for most of funded providers.

South Ayrshire

• £2.87 per meal.

South Lanarkshire

• £0.50 per hour is added to the hourly rate to cover meals.

Stirling

• Stirling Council pay a £0.35 top up to the hourly rate to cover the free meal entitlement.
• Alternatively, providers can have the option to have the free meal provided directly by Stirling Council.

West Dunbartonshire

• £3.00 per meal.

West Lothian

• £0.30 per hour is added to the hourly rate to cover meals and £0.10 per hour for snacks.

Western Isles

• £2.00 per meal.
• Only one funded partner is currently claiming the extra funding for meals. The Council provide meals to the other partner providers directly from local school canteens.