Free school meal support needed for children in Covid hotspots

Labour has renewed its plea for children to get free school meals over the school holidays, especially now there are nearly a million children living in areas that are subject to Tier 2 and Tier 3 coronavirus restrictions which could cause further hardship for families.

The analysis by the House of Commons Library, commissioned by Shadow Education Secretary Kate Green, found that there are around 900,000 children living in areas subject to enhanced restrictions because of the coronavirus pandemic. The new figures show that 61 per cent of the over 1.4 million children eligible for free school meals are living in areas subject to the increased restrictions.

Labour is warning that this will leave thousands of families facing a ‘double whammy’ as the October half term approaches – with incomes and jobs at risk while vital support for children is removed.

Labour is forcing a vote in the House of Commons on the issue of free school meals, urging for the provision of free school meals to be extended over each school holiday from October half term to Easter 2021.

Angela Rayner, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, said: “This vote is about our values as a country and whether the government, in the middle of this crisis, is happy to let our children go hungry. Millions of families up and down the country are facing a bleak winter of real hardship as the furlough scheme is withdrawn and further restrictions are put in place without proper support for businesses, jobs and livelihoods."