Trade unions have criticised Humza Yousaf after he signalled a u-turn on extending universal free school meals.
Pupils in primary 1-5 are entitled to free lunches and the SNP promised an extension to P6 and P7 pupils.
Campaigners also want the policy to apply to secondary schools.
But in an interview with the Record, the new First Minister said anti-poverty spending had to be targeted at those in need, suggesting that extending universalism may not be the best approach:
“I’ve got a 14-year-old now. Should people be paying for her free school meals when I earn a First Minister’s salary?
“I don’t think that’s the right way to use that money. A better way is to target those that need it absolutely the most.”
He later said every policy the SNP had committed to supporting, but had not yet delivered, would be reviewed to see its impact on cutting poverty.
The apparent u-turn sparked an angry backlash from campaigners
Andrea Bradley, General secretary of the EIS trade union, said:
“Reneging on a commitment to free school meals would be a massive and profoundly damaging mistake which would betray young people living in poverty across Scotland, and would be a particularly hard blow to families with school-aged children as they continue the hard struggle with the cost-of-living crisis.”
Joe Rollin, a Senior Organiser at the Unite union, said: “This looks like a screeching hand brake turn. We are calling on the First Minister to honour his commitment and remove means-testing for all primary school children for school meals.
“Workers across Scotland are suffering from real terms pay cuts. Rising food prices are making the situation worse. Families need more support from this Government. And they need it now.”
STUC General Secretary Roz Foyer said: “We were enthusiastic participants in the summit today. Our key message is that better and fairer wages tied to redistributive taxation must lie at the heart of strategies to tackling poverty and inequality. Current levels of in-work poverty are totally unacceptable and place further pressure on our under-funded benefits system. We need to see real action coming out of this summit.
“Suggestions this morning that the Scottish Government might consider breaking pledges to extend free school meals is not what we are looking to hear. Investing in the health of all of our young people and removing stigma is a key priority and any roll-back will be fiercely resisted.”
The First Minister’s comments were published on the day of an anti-poverty summit he organised in Edinburgh.
Yousaf spoke about “targeting help” – also hinting there could be future tax rises for higher earners to help boost support for low-income Scots.
He told the summit: “We must be bold in considering future tax decisions. Tough choices will need to be made about existing budgets, and we need to consider whether targeting help is the way forward when money is so tight.”
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