West Berkshire Food Bank welcomes Government funding after free school meals row

‘Not a U-turn’ on Marcus Rashford’s school holiday meals says Newbury MP

THE West Berkshire Food Bank has welcomed additional Government funding to feed children during school holidays.

Newbury MP Laura Farris said that the additional funding did not represent a U-turn and that it would help more families.

Last month, Mrs Farris voted against extending the Free School Meal voucher scheme over school holidays until next Easter.

The vote followed a campaign by Manchester United and England footballer Marcus Rashford.

The Conservative MP said that children being back at school, an uplift in Universal Credit, and an Emergency Grant for Food and Essential Supplies were factors in her decision to vote the way she did.

West Berkshire Council said that arrangements were in place through the Community Support Hub and existing charities such as the West Berkshire Food Bank for families in need.

Council figures show that there are 2,829 children in the district who qualify for free school meals.

Businesses, many already feeling the impact of the virus, rallied to help and offered free lunches to families during the October half-term.

The Government has since announced a £400m fund to support poor children and their families in England through a winter grant scheme.

The scheme will be run by councils and aims to provide support with food and bills, £170m being ring-fenced and distributed through councils. Funding will be available from the beginning of December until the end of March.

Responding to the announcement, West Berkshire Foodbank project manager Fran Chamings said: “We welcome the news of the Government’s winter package. The extension of funding for local councils is crucial to those plunged into this long-term crisis.

“It’s not right that anyone needs to use a food bank, at any time of year, but changes like this show that together, we can build a hunger-free future.”

Mrs Farris welcomed the announcement, but said it was “a big and extended offer” rather than a U-turn.

She said: “I want to be very clear that the Government isn’t offering a voucher system, but they are offering winter food support, which goes much wider than the voucher system.

“It’s not just children who receive free school meals – it’s going to be for other families, who in many cases due to Covid, although not all, are going to be experiencing food poverty coming into the Christmas holidays.

“So it’s going to go wider than what Marcus Rashford was initially asking for, so I think that’s sort of different to a U-turn actually.

“It isn’t vouchers, so they haven’t done what many people in Newbury were asking for, but I think they’ve done something better.”

Mrs Farris said she had spoken with groups and primary school headteachers following the vote.

She said: “I think the Government has done a really good job because it delivers much closer to what the primary school heads in this constituency think needed to be done than what Marcus Rashford was initially asking for.

“That’s not a criticism of him, but they all took a slightly different approach and that’s what the Government has done.”

The opposition Liberal Democrats on West Berkshire Council had called for the council to extend the Free School Meal scheme over the Christmas holiday.

Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group on West Berkshire Council, Lee Dillon (Lib Dem, Thatcham North East) said: “We welcome the Government’s decision to listen to the calls of Marcus Rashford and others to provide more support for children facing hunger over the holidays.

“From the start, the Liberal Democrats in West Berkshire have said that Government, local if not national, should step up and ensure that no child went hungry this Christmas, and we thank those who supported our campaign.

“Having spoken to local groups during the last half-term we saw how charities and businesses were left on their own to step up to solve the crisis.

“We need to ensure that not only are we signposting, but that we are directly providing aid to residents either through direct support to charities or even directly to residents.

“The October half-term experience should never be repeated and through working together with local charities we can create a scheme that works for our community.

“Ensuring this is done in a timely manner is key so that parents, carers and partners know how to access the funding.”