THE Jamie Oliver-inspired school meals shake-up has been branded "the nanny state gone mad".

Civic leader and school governor Cllr David Smith also blasted parents who "dump" their children off at early morning breakfast clubs, expecting them to be fed during the day, and then attend after-school activities.

Speaking at a Bournemouth Council Cabinet meeting yesterday, Cllr Smith, said: "It is almost a total abdication of family life. One wonders why people bother to have kids.

"Are parents not expected to feed their families any more?"

The governor at St Luke's primary school in Winton described a central government policy to ensure every child who wants a hot school meal will have one by next autumn as "the nanny state gone mad".

"We have breakfast clubs in our schools and now we are expected to provide lunch," he said.

"Surely part of family life is sitting around a dinner table in the evening.

"I have been a governor at St Luke's for some years and have never had a parent saying it's a shame we don't feed their kids.

"Hot meals were a joke at our school and I never ate them. Wouldn't it be better to teach children how to cook? I have a 19-year-old son who can barely work the microwave."

But Cllr Malcolm Davies, who has responsibility for education and children's services, disagreed.

He said: "Parents are under pressure. Sadly, unless meals are provided in our schools, children won't get the nutrition they need.

"Hopefully, with Poole and Dorset County Council, we will find a company who will deliver nutritious hot meals to every school."

However, Cllr Davies described the three-year, £250,000 government funding for the initiative as "pathetic".

He said: "It is a real worry because we all know it will be costly. Lots of schools here haven't got dining facilities or kitchens."

Former mayor Cllr Bob Chapman said the government aid was "peanuts" while Cllr Ron Whittaker said it was "totally impractical".

But Cllr Anne Rey said: "If there wasn't a breakfast club at schools some kids wouldn't eat all day.

"We have to make the most of the resources we get and bring school dinners back into this town."

The cabinet approved the Schools Meals Improvement Strategy which includes the introduction of a hot meal service to primary schools by September 2008 with additional training for catering staff.