Reform council ends school holiday food vouchers
Reform UKReform UK-led East Sussex County Council (ESCC) has defended ending school holiday food vouchers after an MP labelled it a "political decision".
ESCC said the government had withdrawn the funding it previously used for the vouchers and introduced a £1bn Crisis and Resilience Fund, which would be used for targeted support.
Hastings' Labour MP Helena Dollimore said the fund stated it should be used to "support families in crisis to ensure the poorest children do not go hungry in the school holidays".
ESCC leader Andy Woolley said he would "challenge the suggestion that the council has chosen to 'cut funding' for vulnerable families or is 'making the conscious decision to let children go hungry'."
A spokesperson from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said local councils could use money from the Crisis and Resilience Fund for free school meals "if they feel that is where support is needed".
Dollimore said: "ESCC need to urgently step up [and] reinstate these school holiday meal vouchers as they've been funded to do by the Labour government and make sure that children in East Sussex are not going hungry over the summer."
The Hastings MP said that "to make matters worse", ESCC had "not communicated clearly with families, who have only found out in the last week of term that they will not be receiving these vouchers over the holidays".
"This is totally unacceptable and puts hundreds of children across Hastings, Rye and the villages at risk," she said.
However, Woolley said families were told through schools in April and July the voucher scheme would not continue during the summer.
The leader added the council continued food vouchers during the Easter and May half-term holidays despite the government's original Household Support Fund ending in March.
"The new fund is intended to provide support to households experiencing immediate financial hardship and to help build longer-term financial resilience, rather than providing universal holiday food vouchers to all families eligible for free school meals," Woolley said.
'We recognise the pressures'
A DWP spokesperson said the £1bn Crisis Resilience Fund would act as a "safety net helping to prevent families from falling into crises which could see them become dependent on the welfare state longer term".
"Local authorities design their schemes with the needs of their area in mind, and this can include using the fund for free school meals during school holidays if they feel that is where support is needed," they added.
Over the summer, families eligible for benefits-related free school meals can access free activities and meals through the Holiday Activity and Food programme, ESCC said.
"We recognise the pressures many families continue to face and remain committed to ensuring that the funding available is targeted towards those experiencing the greatest financial hardship, in line with the purpose of the new government scheme," Woolley added.
