Make the case for free school meals  You credit Liberal Democrat
education spokesman David Laws with exposing flaws in the
government's criteria for free school meals provision and
highlight Hull as one of the worst affected areas, with 17.8% of
children receiving free school meals, but 31% of children living
in poverty. Not long ago, when Labour-controlled Hull council
pioneered universal free school meals as an effective means to
combat perceived stigma and enhance children's concentration and
achievement in primary school - and recent rapid improvements in
Sat outcomes in Hull's primary schools attest to its success.
The scheme was mentioned as a potential pilot for national
introduction of universal school meals. Yet one of the first
acts of the current Lib Dem majority on Hull council was to
scrap the scheme as too expensive, leading to the current
deplorable position reported in your article. Shouldn't Mr Laws
also explain and remedy the actions of his own party when in
power locally? PE Kopp  Providing