Government performs u-turn over free school meals in holidays

Following a major public campaign, in which Marcus Rashford MBE united the nation with his fight to #endchildfoodpoverty, prime minister Boris Johnson telephoned Mr Rashford personally on Saturday (7 November) to deliver the news.

The £170m winter grant scheme will be distributed through councils in England from December 1 up until March 2021, with at least 80 per cent earmarked for help with food and bills.

On top of this, disadvantaged children will be able to get healthy food and take part in enriching activities over Easter, summer, Christmas and in 2021 with a £220m investment and extension to the holiday food and activities programme.

Healthy Start Vouchers for pregnant women and low-income families in England with children under four, will increase from £3.10 a week per child to £4.25 a week, starting in April 2021. The vouchers allow families to purchase free vitamins and food vouchers to purchase vegetables, fruit, pulses and milk. 

Mr Rashford welcomed the news and said the extra funding would improve the lives of almost 1.7 million children over the next 12 months.

He said, ‘The intent the Government have shown today is nothing but positive and they should be recognised for that.’
Seeing the role everyone had played in supporting the most vulnerable children had been ‘the greatest moment of my life’, he added.

However, he said he remained concerned about the children who would miss out on help ‘because their family income isn't quite low enough’.

He added, ‘I am fully committed to this cause, and I will fight for the rest of my life for it, because in my mind, no child should ever go hungry in the United Kingdom.’

U-turn

The latest move represents a u-turn for the Government, which had previously said that Universal Credit was the way forward.

It’s the second time that Mr Rashford has prompted the Government to change tact. The first campaign led to a change in policy whereby children claimed free school meals over the summer holiday.

Despite a motion from the Labour party and three million people signing a petition he set up, the Government refused calls for free school meals over the October half term.

This led to public support from local cafés and charities and local authorities continuing to provide meals for hungry school children.

Anna Taylor, executive director of the Food Foundation, described the news as a ‘big win’ for disadvantaged children, which shows that the government is serious about tackling children’s food poverty.

But she said, ‘We must keep in mind that a similar number of disadvantaged children – approximately 1.7 million - will continue to miss out on the benefits of free school meals and healthy start because the qualifying income criteria are currently set far too low.’

She added, ‘Children’s food poverty, like the pandemic, will not go away until we have a lasting solution in place. We’ve started the journey today, thanks to the Government’s commitment, and we need to see it through so we can #ENDchildfoodpoverty.’

Commenting on the latest announcement Kate Green MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Education, said, ‘It is right that the Government have finally listened to Labour and other campaigners and offered more support to families struggling to make ends meet, but this should have been announced weeks ago to help the children at risk of going hungry over half term.

She added, ‘The Government’s incompetence and intransigence created needless and avoidable hardship for families across the country.

‘This announcement is a necessary starting point, but Ministers must ensure no child goes hungry, and bring forward a long-term strategy to tackle child poverty that was rising under this government even before the pandemic.’

Child poverty campaigners welcome the extra funding to support families with essentials this winter but warn that increasing in Universal Credit is the only real way forward in the long term.

Alison Garnham, chief executive of Child poverty Action Group, said, ‘When it comes to tackling child poverty in a lasting way, families need more secure incomes to keep their heads above water. The Government can best achieve this through the retention of the £20 increase in universal credit and through restoring the value of children's benefits such as child benefit and child allowances in UC. These, together with the removal of the two-child limit and benefit cap would begin to reduce child poverty and remove the need for emergency aid.'

Anna Feuchtwang, chief executive of the National Children’s Bureau and chair of the End Child Poverty Coalition, commended Marcus Rashford for pushing poverty to the top of the public's agenda acknowledged that the Government has listened.

But she said, ‘There is not a shortage of food in this country, there is a shortage of money in family budgets to buy it. While these new measures will help families who urgently need a hand, there’s much more that needs to be done to tackle child poverty.’

She urged the Government to make a serious long-term commitment to put ‘more money in the pockets of hard-pressed families’.

And added, ‘A crucial first step along this road must be to make the £20-a-week uplift in Universal Credit permanent.’

Announcing the support package, Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey said the Government knew it was a challenging time for many, and insisted it had consistently supported the lowest paid families by boosting welfare support.

She said, ‘We want to make sure vulnerable people feel cared for throughout this difficult time and, above all, no one should go hungry or be unable to pay their bills this winter.

‘We know this has been a challenging time for many, and we have consistently supported the lowest-paid families, protecting 9 million jobs with furlough and boosting welfare support by £9.3 billion.

She added, ‘This package builds on that support, and by extending our successful Holiday Activities and Food programme, as well as funding a £170 million Covid Winter Grant Scheme, we are making sure families get the help they need.’

Holiday programme

The expansion of the Holiday Activities and Food Programme to provide activities across all local authorities during the main holidays is a ‘very positive move’ but ‘falls short’ in addressing fully the issue of holiday hunger, according to Nick Brook, deputy general secretary of NAHT, which represents leaders in the majority of schools.

He said, ‘There’s a lot of evidence to show that more disadvantaged children miss out on activities over the holiday periods. However, we should avoid confusing the solution to one problem as the answer to another.

‘Whilst we would strongly encourage all eligible children to take part in activities during holiday periods, we would question whether provision of food to those going hungry should be dependent upon them attending an activity, which for a whole host of reasons might not be suitable, available or accessible for particular groups.’

He added, ‘It is very welcome that the Government are investing more money in holiday activities, but this alone falls short in addressing fully the issue of holiday hunger.’