Council pays family £30,000 after child with allergy given wrong school meals

A council paid out £30,000 in compensation to a family after a child was repeatedly given food they were allergic to, it has emerged.

Dumfries and Galloway Council confirmed the school meals error but did not reveal which food type the child was given, or if their health was affected.

A review of school meals is now being carried out by the council due to concerns about nutritional balance and issues with food allergies and medical dietary needs.

With more than 400 pupils in the region now registered with special dietary requirements, tighter measures are being sought.

A motion tabled by councillor Carolyne Wilson seeking a "comprehensive review" of school meal provision received unanimous support.

The details of the compensation emerged during a full council meeting in Dumfries last week.

Citing the case, Wilson said it was right the council did "everything possible to prevent such incidents from happening again".

A report into the service will be brought back as soon as possible and will include looking at the "development and implementation of a standardised, authority‑wide allergy policy".

The intention is that the review would also strengthen training for staff particularly around nutrition, allergies, medical dietary needs and safe food handling.

It would also help ensure any repeat of the incident which resulted in a child being repeatedly given food they were allergic to.

Alan Mawson, the council's interim head of facilities, waste, and neighbourhood services, said officers welcomed the motion on the issue.

He said it would provide the opportunity to come back to committee and "showcase all the good work the service does that has been recognised as one of the top performing and innovative school meal services in the country".

He added that there was a formal complaints procedure in place.

"It's worth noting that the school meal service produces in the region of 3.2m meals a year and last year it picked up no more than 12 complaints through the formal complaints procedure," he said.

The council uses multiple food suppliers which helps it source products which do not contain allergens.

It also has a dedicated qualified nutritionist within its school meals service.

A council spokesperson said: "It would be inappropriate for the council to comment on individual compensation claims.

"In recent years, the school meals service has strengthened its safeguards and staff procedures, and continues to keep these arrangements under review.

"The council remains fully committed to delivering a safe and reliable school meals service for every child in Dumfries and Galloway."

Reporting by local democracy journalist Marc McLean