The Evening Leader reported recently on Sophie McKeand's outrage after finding out children's fingers are being scanned at the till when buying their school meals.

MissMcKeand is campaigning to get the system removed from schools and has set up a parents' action group.

It has emerged, following a freedom of information request, that the scheme was not debated by county councillors and that it costs more than £25,000 to set up, with annual running costs of up to £2,000.

Miss McKeand has written to her local councillor Ray Dodd, who has backed her view that the issue should have gone to committee for debate.

The "biometric cashless catering system" is being introduced as a pilot scheme at Mold Alun High and is currently being trialed at Elfed High School in Buckley.

The idea is that children will pay for their school dinners using either a fingerprint identification system or a pin number.

Cllr Ray Dodd said he shared some of Miss McKeand's concerns. "I am surprised that this biometric system has been introduced in a school already without any consultation with elected councillors.

"The education department said there has been extensive consultation, I have not been able to establish any consultation with county councillors," he said.

"I'm alarmed that the idea is that all the schoolchildren in Flintshire will be brought into this system. I would like to see the whole thing put on hold until a full and proper debate has been conducted."

Miss McKeand is writing to all 10 executive members at the council. She said: "Elected members of council have not been made aware of the decision to spend hundreds of thousands of pounds of taxpayers' money."

A Flintshire Council spokesman previously said the introduction of the system into the Alun School follows extensive consultation with the governing body, a focus group of parents, the school council, the sixth form council and the PTA.

In a response under the FOI request from Miss McKeand, she was told there is no reference to this subject in any of the council's minutes as it has not been before a council meeting. It is described by the council as "an operational development".

The spokesman from the council added: "This has been an open and transparent process fully involving pupils and parents, and in recognition of legitimate concerns by parents, a dual system will be in place."