FOI Request - School Lunch Debt

Request 101003212786

1. Can you share details of your policy on pupils who have incurred debt on their lunch/meals or catering account? What is the procedure when a pupil runs up a debt?

2, Can you say what restrictions are put in place regarding a school pupil’s access to a meal if they have a debt in their lunch/catering account?

3. Can you give details of the total amount of school lunch debt for each of the last five financial years?

4. Can you give details on the level of debt for each month of 2022?

5. By the end of term December 2022, the number of pupils with school lunch debt?

6. Does the school debt get referred to debt collection? And if so, at what point?

7. When, if ever, debt on lunch or catering accounts is written off?

Response 08-02-2023

1. Primary schools - Accounts in arrears will receive an email/letter to say account is in arrears, then at the end of the month all accounts that are in arrears by £23 and above will be invoiced. Once invoiced this is taken off the Ipay account as it sits within the debt to the Council. 

Secondary school – Pupils who have no money on their account would inform education or catering staff and will receive a meal, this is then paid for by the pupil once they have the funds - this is normally cleared within a week.

2. No restrictions as we cannot refuse a lunch to a pupil; however, in a secondary school they will only receive food at lunchtime, not breaktime.

3.

* Information that is not held falls under Section 17 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 - Information not held.

4. Not held. The system is live, so is constantly changing. Information that is not held falls under Section 17 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 - Information not held.

5. Not held. The system is live, so is constantly changing. Information that is not held falls under Section 17 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 - Information not held.

6. Unpaid school meal debt is pursued in the first instance by the service via emails and letters, but should this prove unsuccessful and the debt continues to grow, the issue is transferred to the Councils Sundry debt system and invoices raised for the total value outstanding. The resultant debt is then subject to the Councils Sundry Debt Policy and pursued accordingly and may include referral to an external debt collector.

7. Acting on advice from the Council’s External Debt Collection Agency or Legal Services, debt identified as irrecoverable will be written off the Accounts Receivable System.  This process is an accounting exercise and the debt will remain due to the Council until legal prescription prevents collection, at which point it becomes legally irrecoverable.