THE Welsh Government should consider providing free school meals for all the nation’s pupils to avoid the ‘stigma’ facing some children.

That’s the view of Anglesey Council’s audit committee who’ve urged the executive to explore the idea during a discussion over the county’s school meal debt.

This follows a report that was presented to councillors in December, highlighting that internal auditors could only offer “limited assurance” over Anglesey’s school income collection arrangements after visits to three separate schools flagged up concerns.

The auditors had found that some schools were still operating a manual paper system while others depended on mobile payments via the School Comms app, leading to “accounting inconsistencies and a lack of corporate monitoring.”

But in a bid to stop Welsh councils having to chase parents for mounting school meal debts and some children being “stigmatised” for receiving free dinners, calls have been made for a revamp of the system.

Audit committee vice chair, Cllr Bob Llewellyn Jones, said during a meeting in Llangefni: "Over the years, this council has written to the Assembly requesting free school meals for all Welsh pupils.

"I think, like free subscriptions, it would be beneficial for the children as the stigma can be there forever when other kids know who receives the free school meals.”

But despite 151 officer, Marc Jones, outlining that the new cashless system that’s currently being rolled out across all schools means that it should not be obvious to pupils who receives free meals, Cllr Jones felt it would still be beneficial.

“I think we should be pushing the Welsh Government on the matter and propose we ask the executive to explore this further,” concluded Cllr Jones.

At present, just over 76,000 children are eligible for free school meals, or 16% of Welsh pupils, who receive them if their parents quality for certain benefits.

Since January 2015, the Scottish government has provided free school meals for all children in primary years one to three.

All state-funded schools in England, including academies and free schools, also have a legal duty to offer free meals for all children in reception to year,  with the Bevan Foundation think tank calling for similar measures in Wales.

But despite concerns that children in other counties had been refused school meals as they owed money to the school, Marc Jones confirmed there was no such policy in place on Anglesey.

“At the moment its up to each school to refer any debt of over £50 to the central debt recovery team who take the debt over and issue a bill,” he said.

“The amount of work they put in will usually depend on the level of the debt, but its about finding that balance and we do take people to court.

“The new system sees people pay in advance and have credit on their child’s account.

“The child could turn up and still be given a school dinner if that’s not the case, but under this system its easier to control and contact the parents a lot easier.

“If a child turns up with no credit the school will still provide them with a school dinner, that won’t be stopped.

“It would be unfair and our efforts are concentrated on chasing the debt rather than stop the service for any child.”

In a bid to tackle Anglesey’s new payment system, an officer has now been appointed to improve the situation by offering training and trying to level the playing field.

The scale of the island’s school meal debt has not yet been revealed, however,  with officers expecting it could take until the end of the school year to provide a clear picture.

In neighbouring Gwynedd, however, school meal debt was found to have reached £136,000 over a five year period, with efforts also underway there to bring in a more modern payment system.

But according to the Welsh Government local authorities could, if they so desired, offer free school meals to every child within their area if they made enough room in their budget.

A spokesman said, “We want to use public money as effectively as possible, and ensure that those who are most in need are supported.

“Extending eligibility for free school meals to include all children, not just those from the lowest income families would need greater financial investment. This would mean savings would then have to be made elsewhere.”