Feryal Clark MP calls on the Government to fund free school meals throughout the holidays
Feryal Clark MP calls on the Government to fund free school meals throughout the holidays
Enfield North MP Feryal Clark has called on the government to extend free school meals in the school holidays, including the upcoming October half term and Christmas, as part of a Labour campaign to ensure that no child goes hungry during the coronavirus pandemic.
Labour had previously given Boris Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak 72 hours to change their position and provide this support. With the deadline expired, the Party forced a Commons vote on the issue. Almost all Conservative MPs voted against the motion.
In Enfield North, children are at risk of going hungry over the holidays as the government withdraws support for the provision of free school meals. The October half term comes as millions of families face a furlough cliff-edge that could see jobs across the country at risk, at the same time as millions of families face tighter restrictions.
Feryal Clark MP said:
“Millions of families face the prospect of losing their livelihoods because the government has lost control of the virus.
“It’s sink-or-swim plans for support could leave more than one million children at risk of going hungry over the school holidays.
“Now is the time to act. Labour will not stand by and let families be the victims of the government’s incompetence. It’s a scandal that Boris Johnson and the Conservative Party are leaving kids to go hungry.”
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
· Labour is calling for the extension of free school meals (“FSM”) to all children who are currently eligible in all of the school holidays between now and spring 2021. This includes the coming October half term, the Christmas holidays, February half term and the Easter holidays.
· There are currently over 1.44 million children eligible for free school meals, who could all benefit from this policy if it was enacted.
Source: Department for Education, Schools, pupils, and their characteristics: Academic Year 2019/20, 21 September 2020https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics
· Conservative MP and chair of the Education Committee Robert Halfon expressed disappointment at Boris Johnson rejecting Marcus Rashford’s call for free school meals to be extended over the holidays. https://twitter.com/halfon4harlowMP/status/1316734839211675651
· The Labour led government in Wales has committed to ensuring free school meal provisions for every school holiday until Easter 2021. https://gov.wales/marcus-rashford-mbe-backs-welsh-government-decision-ensure-free-school-meal-provisions-every-school
· During the lockdown parents were nearly twice as likely to be furloughed as those without children. 13.6% of parents were furloughed, compared to 7.2% of those without children, according to the Office for National Statistics. https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases/articles/parentinginlockdowncoronavirusandtheeffectsonworklifebalance/2020-07-22