FUNDING proposed by the UK Government to hang the King’s portrait across buildings could instead provide more than three million free school meals in Scotland.
This comes as the UK Government announced plans to spend £8 million on hanging portraits of King Charles in government-owned buildings across the UK, including Scottish schools.
With the average cost of a school meal in Scotland at £2.35 (£2.28 for primary, £2.42 for secondary), the proposed funding would be enough to provide 3.4 million free school meals to Scottish pupils.
READ MORE: Scottish Government slams plans for King Charles portraits in schools
The money could also fund 253 new teachers in Scotland, with a starting salary of £31,584.
The latest figures from the Scottish Government – dating from 2022 – show that there are 705,874 pupils in Scotland.
If the £8m were reallocated to providing school meals, every pupil in Scotland would have a weeks’ worth of meals for free.
Schools in Scotland spend on average £8500 per pupil each year, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS).
The money proposed by the UK Government to hang the King’s portrait would cover the yearly spending of 941 pupils.
READ MORE: Letters – King Charles portrait plan is both desperate and hypocritical
In addition to pupil expenses for food, stationary and items of furniture, schools also have to budget for technology equipment.
Many councils across Scotland have launched initiatives to provide pupils with their own iPad, to support their learning and tackle digital inequality.
The £8m proposed portrait funding would provide 16,032 new iPads to schools across Scotland.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel