Powys County Council has confirmed that it is happy to reverse its decision to cancel traditional Christmas dinners this year, but says it won’t be footing the bill.
Instead, parents and carers will be expected to cough up an extra 70p to cover the increased cost of turkey and the trimmings for the county’s kids.
On Friday it was revealed that the cash-strapped council was replacing the traditional dinner with a meal including a pizza slice and a sandwich. It didn’t go down well, with 6,000 people signing a petition in 72 hours.
Powys eventually caved in to pressure last night but it will come at a price with the meal costing parents and carers £3 instead of the daily £2.30.
Cllr Phyl Davies, Cabinet Member for School Catering Service, confirmed: “We have served a traditional Christmas dinner to primary school pupils for a number of years, with the council covering the additional costs of providing this meal – existing school meal charges don’t meet the extra costs.
“The county council is facing severe financial pressures and all services, including catering, have to make savings.
“Against that backdrop, we are unable to cover the increased cost of a traditional Christmas dinner and this position was sent to primary school headteachers in the county and that a party-themed menu would be introduced this Christmas within the existing cost of a primary school dinner.
“The public reaction over the last few days has shown how much support there is for a traditional Christmas dinner, which has always been popular in the past. We will provide a Christmas dinner for primary school pupils this year but with a small increase to cover the additional costs.
“We will be increasing the price of this meal as a one-off to £3 per primary school pupil – an increase of 70p.”