As part of a commitment which was announced earlier this year, Highland children who receive Free School Meals will continue to benefit from this provision over the upcoming festive break.

To help with food support over this period and enable local children to continue to benefit from a nutritious and well-balanced diet, Free School Meal Vouchers of £30 per pupil have been issued to 4,570 parents/carers within Highland, totalling £137,100.

In addition, households in receipt of Free School Meals due to reasons of low income have received a COVID Winter Hardship Payment, which is an award of £100 per child.

While there are no restrictions on how families choose to spend this additional payment, spending choices may include festive presents, food, home heating and other essentials required over the winter months.

Councillor Margaret Davidson, leader of the council, said: “I am delighted that vulnerable families within the Highlands have received these payments in advance of the festive break and I am quite sure that this additional support for the winter months will be a welcome relief for them after such a challenging year. An additional amount of almost £600,000 going into our local economies will also be a real boost for businesses.

“I would like to sincerely thank the Council officers involved in co-ordinating this package of work and successfully delivering this in good time prior to the Christmas break, despite the very challenging deadline set by Scottish Government.”