Senate to convene in extraordinary plenary session to consider ordinance on hot meals in schools

The Standing Bureau of the Senate has called on the chamber to convene today at 14:00hrs, in an extraordinary plenary session for an information on the passage by the government during a parliamentary recess of some emergency ordinances, including one regarding the continuation of the programme providing food support for preschoolers and students in 150 public pre-university education units, agerpres reports.

Senate Chair Anca Dragu said the ordinance on hot meals in schools is the most important of those discussed by the Standing Bureau and that will feature on the agenda of the extraordinary session.

"We have had four emergency ordinances before this Standing Bureau and the most important is the one on hot meals in schools. It is an ordinance that extends the programme approved in 2016, by emergency ordinance (OUG) 72 of 2016. We have 150 schools that implement the hot meals programme. The amount paid for a menu for a child has been increased, and it is currently standing at 10 lei. Unfortunately, there are only 150 schools and it should reach 4,000 - 5,000 schools, even close to 10,000 schools, their total number," added Dragu.

She said that there is a direct link between reducing school dropout and hot meals.

The plenary session will also be informed about the passage of an ordinance regarding some measures in the field of state pensions, as well as one regarding the waste regime. Another emergency ordinance that the to be revealed is OUG 93/2021 establishing measures for the development of the National Local Development Programme, stage II.

The Senate is the first chamber notified for the bills on approving the emergency ordinances mentioned above.