Labour’s education spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime has written to the Auditor-General to call for more sunlight on David Seymour’s school lunches programme.

Building on the Auditor-General’s present inquiry which focuses on the procurement process, Labour is also calling for the investigation to include:

· Whether providers are meeting agreed standards;

· the programme’s value for money and the cost burden on schools; and

· and how complaints are being managed, and standards being enforced.

“David Seymour promised all would be fixed by the start of term two, and for our children’s sake we want to ensure he doesn’t break this promise,” Willow-Jean Prime said.

“I’m hearing from schools that have had to fork out hundreds of dollars without any reimbursement because of David Seymour’s botch-ups, and there are many cases of food waste as poor quality lunches go uneaten.

“It’s been a struggle to get straight answers out of both Erica Stanford and David Seymour about why this programme has been so chaotic and what they’re actually doing to respond.

“We welcome the Auditor-General’s inquiry into the ongoing issues with the programme and look forward to seeing these issues addressed,” Willow-Jean Prime said.

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