The cost of school meals is set to rise to £2.20 per pupil in Perth and Kinross as the controversial issue of where the dinners are prepared was once again brought to the table.
The budget will also see a reduction in teacher numbers at secondary school level.
A SNP-led campaign halted plans last year to have school dinners pre-prepared at a central unit in Dundee and then frozen before being delivered to school across Perth and Kinross.
However the Conservative budget passed yesterday has called for a strategic review of catering services for the dinners.
Council leader Murray Lyle has said any proposal will be different to the scheme that was rejected by council last September.
Also included in the budget was an increase to all school meals of 5p, expected to bring in £64,000 over the next three years.
The rise in cost of the school meals and the revisiting of how they are prepared led to angry exchanges over pricing, food waste and the new menus currently being provided to pupils.
SNP councillor Fiona Sarwar, who delivered the SNP budget, accused the Conservatives of reintroducing centralised catering “through the back door” and ignoring public opinion.
Her colleague, Councillor Sheila McCole, said: “This SNP group successfully opposed the introduction of a central production unit for school meals, in favour of school meals continuing to be cooked freshly on school premises, safeguarding jobs, and ensuring fresh nutritious meals are provided where children go to school.
“But just as important as it is to have meals prepared freshly on school premises, it is equally important that school meals are affordable.
“While the uptake of school meals in our secondary schools is positive and generally trending upwards, which is very welcome, the trend in our primary schools is downward.”
Conservative councillor John Duff argued: “Our budget has accepted the proposed savings in teacher numbers.
“While we recognise the challenges this may bring, it is important to note that this will bring us in line with the national average and we will keep this under review.
“Other budgets have proposed a reduction in school meal costs but this fails to recognise that uptake is declining not due to the price of the meals, but because of recent changes by the Scottish Government to the taste of meals and the range of meals on offer – as witnessed by the increasing food waste appearing in school dining rooms.
“Our budget includes a strategic review of catering services aimed at making significant savings over the three years.”
