Rise in cost of school meals '˜unacceptable' says SDLP

SDLP Cllr Declan McAlinden criticised the rise which is set to start in five pence increments this month.

An EA spokesperson said: “The Education Authority recently carried out a review of school meals prices. A decision was made to harmonise prices across Northern Ireland, removing disparities between former regions.

“Locally it is envisaged that there will be three separate price revisions, taking effect from January, March and September 2017.

“This applies to primary and post-primary schools. All schools across Northern Ireland will have harmonised pricing as a result of these price revisions.”

The applicable price in September 2016 was £2.30 (unchanged from September 2015).

The applicable prices for the past five years are as follows - £2.10 (from September 2012), £2.20 (from September 2014), £2.30 (from September 2015), £2.35 (from January 2017), £2.55 (from March 2017), £2.60 (from September 2017)