Sadiq Khan said told Radio 4 listeners this morning that, while he was grateful for the free school meals he received as a child at his primary school in Tooting, he felt stigmatised by having to queue up and eat separately from children whose parents were paying for their meals. If that is what his school was really doing then it is a pretty horrible way to treat children – and create class divisions where they don’t need to exist. Sorting out payments for school lunches can, of course be handled away from children’s noses, so none of them know who is eating for free.
But does Khan’s childhood embarrassment really justify what he wants to do now: offer free school meals to every primary school pupil in London? Such a measure should save parents £440 a year, cost the taxpayer £130 million. Khan says he can afford it because receipts from business rates have exceeded expectations.
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