School meal prices in Merthyr Tydfil are set to remain the same as the council prepares for roll out of free school meals for primary school children. A report to cabinet on Wednesday, July 12 recommends it approves freezing school meal prices in Merthyr Tydfil from September 2023 with primary school meals set to be free from April 2024.
It said that due to the recent recovery of school meal sales in secondary schools to pre-pandemic levels and considering the cost-of-living crisis as well as the fact the service budget delivered a surplus in 2022/23, it is proposed that the current price freeze continue from September 2023. The prices of school meals is usually set in either April or September each year and they were most recently increased in April 2019 by 20p across all schools.
This set prices at £2.30 in primary schools and £2.70 in secondary schools. No price increase was considered during the financial year 2020/2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic and the interruption to the service.
