The Scottish Government is facing a legal battle over a new scheme to provide free milk for kids of nursery age.
The School and Nursery Milk Alliance (SNMA) has been granted a judicial review at the Court Of Session after raising concerns about the initiative.
The group, which represents milk suppliers as well as nurseries and schools, claims the funding provided under the scheme is “insufficient” and will leave many childcare providers out of pocket.
Free milk for kids: What’s the plan?
Under the Scottish Milk and Healthy Snack Scheme, the Scottish Government said pre-school children who spend two or more hours a day in a nursery will be entitled to milk and a snack of either fruit or vegetables.
The initiative, which was launched in August, replaces the UK Nursery Milk Scheme, adding on the provision of a healthy snack.
The government is expected to give between £9 million and £12 million to local authorities to administer the scheme in the first year, depending on uptake. Registered childcare providers will receive up-front payments through their council.
Sounds good so far – so what’s the problem?
The SNMA claims that due to the late publication of the rules and the early closure of the registration process by some local authorities, not all providers that were registered under the old Nursery Milk Scheme have been able to sign up for the new scheme.
They also say some nurseries will be unable to find a milk supplier to deliver milk to their premises within the budget provided.
The group claim this will mean staff having to travel to shops in their own time and in their own vehicles to purchase milk and providers subsidising the cost of the milk out of their own general funds.
The SNMA lodged a petition for judicial review against the funding rates set in the scheme and the guidance issued by Scottish Ministers in relation to it.
The Court of Session has now ruled the review can proceed and a one-day hearing has been set for December 10.
What does everyone say about it?
Jon Thornes, chairman of the SNMA, said: “We aim to ensure that providing all nursery age and young school children with free and subsidised milk during the school day remains a priority for public policy in the UK.
“The new Scottish Milk and Healthy Snack Scheme replaced the previous long-established UK Nursery Milk Scheme in Scotland and we support the Scottish government’s attempts to increase the number of children that benefit from free milk and fruit.
“We want the scheme to work well for everyone, but we have a number of concerns about how the scheme will operate in practice.”
He added: “We have raised those concerns but unfortunately we feel that there has been very limited consultation and engagement from the government and our only option is to pursue more formal action via a Judicial Review.
“We hope to continue to work with the government to make sure that the scheme is a big success.”
Launching the free milk for kids scheme in August, Children’s Minister Clare Haughey said: “This scheme not only provides eligible pre-school children in Scotland with access to excellent sources of nutrition but we hope it will set up healthy eating habits for life.”
“With this expanded and improved offer, the Scottish Government has gone further than the UK scheme.
“Working in partnership with Cosla and other key partners, we are investing in children’s outcomes, providing increased money up-front, and offering a wider range of healthy produce while supporting our vital Scottish food and drink sector.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “It would not be appropriate to comment on ongoing legal action.”
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