Cost of living: School meal price rise worries Derbyshire parents

The council said the catering staff wage bill alone had risen by £1.2m

Parents in Derbyshire have said they are facing difficult choices due to a rise in the cost of school meals.

Conservative-led Derbyshire County Council said in July the cost of a meal would increase from £2.30 to £3.25 in primary schools from September.

Its school catering service currently provides about 50,000 hot meals to children at 358 schools in the county.

An online petition calling for the price to be frozen at £2.65 has been signed by more than 5,800 people.

Families have spoken about how the higher cost will impact them.

Seonaid Dutton worries for families who are struggling to balance the books

Seonaid Dutton, a mother of two in Bolsover, said school costs were already "incredibly expensive" for her children.

"I can do packed lunches, but we both work full-time and it's an added thing in the morning," she said.

"We probably will end up going back to pack-ups if they go up that much because it's a massive amount out of my budget just on school dinners.

"We can manage, but there are people in harder situations than us."

Victoria Brown wants the council to find savings elsewhere

Victoria Brown, who lives in Belper, said the council ought to find savings elsewhere.

"I think it's too much as people are struggling as it is," she said.

"Councils have got to balance the books and education has got to make ends meet but there must be somewhere else they can get it down a bit."

Richard Thompson said the school dinners were good value

Richard Thompson, from Matlock Bath, says he thinks the school dinners will still be value for money.

"For that amount, it's OK," he said.

"I think [£3.25] is reasonable, I think that's fine, because it's important.

"Obviously there's a cost to making your own food to take with them, and it saves time in the morning or evening if you've got to create a pick-up so I think it's a good option to have."

Shaun Haywood's family prefers packed lunches

For Shaun Haywood in Bolsover, his family prefers packed lunches.

"It's just the time in the morning preparing it - we've got to get up half an hour early just to pack their lunches," he said.

"It's quite a big expense [for school dinners], £30 a week for two, and that's going to go up, and on top of that we've got bus fares.

"It's one thing after another, so we feel like we've never got any money."

Councillor Alex Dale, cabinet member for education for Derbyshire County Council, described the decision to increase costs as "incredibly difficult", and said the authority was "very reluctant" to implement the changes "given the pressures we know families across the county are facing".

"Unfortunately our catering service is not immune to the soaring costs of ingredients and staffing," Mr Dale said.

"The increase has been calculated to only cover those increased costs so that the service can continue to be viable and sustainable for the future, and there is no intention - nor are we legally allowed - to make any profit from school meals."

He added prices had "always compared favourably to other local authorities and catering services".