The price of school meals in Pembrokeshire is to rise after senior councillors heard their current costs can no longer be sustained without financial losses to the authority.

At the March meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council’s Cabinet, members were asked to back increases to the price of paid school meals in primary and secondary schools from September 1.

A report for members said prices “have remained unchanged for seven years and can no longer be sustained due to rising operational and staffing costs”.

It said the School Meals Service is experiencing significant financial pressure as a result of food price inflation and National Living Wage increases, rising to £12.21 per hour, adding: “While the service currently maintains an overall surplus, recent analysis shows that the secondary school catering service will enter a deficit in 2026/27 without a price adjustment.”

For primary schools, the service provides approximately 6,500 meals per day across 53 schools, adding: “The unit cost of producing a paid for primary school meal now exceeds the costs of production (this include ingredients and additional overheads). This misalignment has created a structural deficit for each meal served.

“As we are managing to a total cost recovery model rather than a static unit price, the £3.40 Universal Primary Free School Meals rate is the most reliable proxy for current production costs for a primary pupil meal.”

Members were recommended to increase paid meals by 20p and adult meals by 49p.

For secondary schools, the service provides 3,500 meals daily across eight secondary schools, where a cafeteria style- model is used.

The report said: “Meal prices have been frozen since 2019. Despite efficiency measures such as supply chain reviews and menu consolidation, food inflation and wage increases now exceed what can be absorbed operationally. It is no longer possible to provide a high quality, nutritionally balanced two- course meal within the current pricing structure.”

As part of a proposed service saving of £200,000 for this financial year it was recommended to increase the price of individual menu items by some 11 per cent.

It added: “Despite maintaining static meal prices for seven years, the Council’s proposed rates remain competitive when compared with neighbouring authorities. Recent benchmarking shows widespread variation, with many councils planning further price increases before September 2026.”

Members backed recommendations that the price of a paid primary school meal increases from £2.55 to £2.75, with adult meals rising from £3.51 to £4.

They also backed increasing the price of individual secondary school meal menu items by 11 per cent, subject to targeted increases rather than a blanket rise.