There has been much discussion over social media and amongst many of my constituents about last night’s Opposition Motion to extend free school meal vouchers outside of term time up until March 2021. The claim that I “voted for children to go hungry” or voted to “end free school meals” is inaccurate, and I would like to take this opportunity to clarify a few points.
Since the onset of the pandemic the Government have rightly provided an extra £9.3 billion targeted at the most in need across England. In England this has allowed for an increase in Local Housing Allowance, the creation of a £180 million fund to help struggling families with their rent, a £63 million fund for councils to use for local welfare assistance and £16 million awarded to food charities. We have also put in place an increase to Universal Credit by £1,000 a year across the UK.
I sincerely believe that no child should go hungry, regardless if they live in England or Wales. I welcome the work of Marcus Rashford to end child food poverty and I am glad that free school meal vouchers were extended over the summer holiday in England.
That said, I think there is a discussion to be had, about whether providing free school meal vouchers is the best way to provide support when children are not at school. Ultimately, I came to the conclusion that there are better long-term solutions to targeting support at those who need it the most, for example through Universal Credit. I will continue the discussions I've been having with the Government on how to ensure that across the UK, everyone gets the support they need.
With the recent publication of the first part of the National Food Strategy, I am confident that support will be provided for those who need it most in England. I have read with interest the recommendations made in the report, in particular those concerning nutrition for disadvantaged families and children. A key recommendation is to expand the number of eligible children for free school meals by an additional 1.5 million, taking the total number of children to 2.6 million. The coronavirus outbreak has made the importance of good nutrition for children even clearer and I am sure that Ministers will consider these recommendations carefully.
It is probably also worth me clarifying that Opposition Motions are non-binding, meaning that had it passed, there would be no change to existing policy. In addition to that, this is a devolved issue which is the responsibility of the Welsh Government, therefore the opposition motion would have only applied to England.
I want to be absolutely clear; despite oppositions parties’ shameful politicking with this important issue, I did not vote for children to go hungry or to end free school meals. I will continue to work with the UK Government towards a long-term solution to end child food poverty across the UK and to ensure that support is provided to those who need it most.
Fay Jones MP
Member of Parliament for Brecon and Radnorshire