Report revealing small schools struggle to provide free meals 'not published'

Restaurateur John Vincent, one of the authors of the School Food Plan, has said his taskforce’s report advising the government that small schools were struggling to provide free infant meals following grant cuts was not published.

He said that the Small Schools Taskforce reported that there was an "ongoing structural issue" with having a small school and recommended that "around £2,000 to £2,300 per year should be provided to these small schools to make the whole provision of their school meals solvent".

However he said: "The government chose not to publish that report. And that, to me, seems strange."

In its statement, the Department for Education said it took spending advice from the report "on board" and this was why the transitional funding was made available to small schools.

It has said previously that the funding "was always intended to be temporary to help small schools to put their meals service on a more sustainable footing".

The department told the BBC: "Small schools received an additional £32.5m over two years - a significant contribution."

John Vincent said that there should be an ongoing commitment to provide extra funding “because it's an every year cost, it's not just a one-off cost for extra ovens."

He added: "It's an every year, every month, every day additional cost that small schools need because they're at a structural disadvantage."