No more free school meal vouchers?

[dottydotterson]

What do you think of the governments decision to end the free school meal vouchers for the summer? Do you agree or not?

We get free school meals, dd1’s has now stopped because she’s year 11 and wouldn’t be at school now anyway other than for exams, dd2 is getting a food parcel which is pretty rubbish, nothing she will eat in there and she’s not really that fussy, it often contains mouldy fruit and veg, a bad of porridge oats, orange juice and a bag or oats, we won’t be bothered when it stops (I know that sounds ungrateful).

I do think something should be in place for those who need extra help with food but there are food banks that are working hard to help people.

Personally I think too many children get free school meals. My dgs gets them, as does every other p1 (?p2, in our area) pupil. However his parents can comfortably afford to feed him and his younger brother. I know some issues, like “social shaming” (hate that term, but can’t think of correct one), can cause bullying/issues in schools! However the school’s need to work round/deal with that.

If the free meals were only given to the pupils who actually need them, then the money saved could be used to help those families in need during holiday times. Children should not go hungry! It is a disgrace that that can happen, in this country.

Why can’t other organisations step up?

because the Tories cut those as well. Sure starts, other children's centres, youth clubs etc. All organisations which would have access to children and know those who need this sort of support. Lots of it gone.

Children should not go hungry! It is a disgrace that that can happen, in this country.

The reason that happens because idiots people say this

Personally I think too many children get free school meals.

@Tootsie321

Personally I think too many children get free school meals. My dgs gets them, as does every other p1 (?p2, in our area) pupil. However his parents can comfortably afford to feed him and his younger brother. I know some issues, like “social shaming” (hate that term, but can’t think of correct one), can cause bullying/issues in schools! However the school’s need to work round/deal with that.

If the free meals were only given to the pupils who actually need them, then the money saved could be used to help those families in need during holiday times. Children should not go hungry! It is a disgrace that that can happen, in this country.

It's often cheaper to provide to everyone rather than means test (child benefit for example).

They don't give free school meals to all of the younger children because of social stigma or bullying. There are a raft of reasons that mean children benefit from them all sitting down to a hot meal each day.

It's also not only poor children that go hungry.

Food banks still open in holidays?

@Orangeblossom78

Food banks still open in holidays?

Food banks are struggling to cope with the increase in demand as it is

Food banks still open in holidays?

Are there no prisons?.

And the Union workhouses? Are they still in operation?

The Treadmill and the Poor Law are in full vigour, then?

They are meal vouchers with no monetary value so can't be used for anything over than food

I'm not sure that's the same everywhere though? A PP mentioned they get Paypoint vouchers (effectively cash) in their area and I'd be surprised if they're alone

I sometimes went hungry as a child.

I stole food from the canteen at school. Helping myself to food from home was considered stealing by my parents and I was punished violently for it.

My parents always had money for foreign holidays (taken without their children), booze and my mum's cigarettes but they did not prioritise quality food for their children.

I was reading comments in the Mail re this issue. Lots of posts saying stuff like "if you can't afford to have children don't have children". This is probably good advice, however lots of people have kids they cannot afford to feed, or, like my parents, do not prioritise food for their kids, surely it is unfair to let children go hungry because of their parents' bad choices?

Personally I believe that no child should go hungry. No child should resort to stealing food in order to live.

I do have to ask why you can't get a job due to the pandemic though, is it a particular job you are looking for?

Because most seasonal work is based in tourist industries, hospitality, cafes, restaurants etc. None of which is actually going at the moment.
FFS.

The benefit cap is: £442.31 a week if you are a couple or have children and live in London £384.62 a week if you are a couple or have children and live outside London
You know that includes rent, right?

The free school meals for the whole of KS1 is different from the free school meals scheme which people need to apply for, the vouchers aren’t going to every KS1 pupil

They have increased benefits about £100 a month too for the rest of the year

Only if you are on UC , I’m still on the old system income support, and it has not been increased.

I support the provision of meal vouchers because preventing child hunger should be at the top of our priorities

@Orangeblossom78

They have increased benefits about £100 a month too for the rest of the year

They really haven't, it's only UC thats been increased. I'm a carer on IS and am still getting exactly the same amount.

Our local schools are giving out weekly food hampers rather than vouchers, and were being delivered by SLT so they could do welfare checks at the same time. Not sure it would be fair for them to carry on doing that over the school holidays. There are over 600 hampers every week.

I think it’s a total disgrace when Johnson is considering a new Royal Yatch. Let the royals buy their own fucking yatch and feed our children.

I’m furious. Imagine the cost of feeding MPs at various dinners. The Queens banquets. It’s like something out of Oliver Twist with the orphans watching Mr Bumble and the town elders scoffing, whilst they fight over a bowl of gruel. This is UK, 2020 😡😡😡

The school meal vouchers are paid for by the school out of our existing budget! We cannot afford to keep providing them through the holidays. We have children in school at the moment in the vulnerable category, they get free school meal vouchers sent out (worth £15 per week, per child) AND they still get a free meal in school! Obviously most of the children getting the vouchers aren’t also in school but quite a few are. At a budget meeting last week our finance team have had to start looking at some ver tough decisions. There will almost definitely be redundancies if we don’t have any “natural wastage” next term. Music lessons and after school sports have already been cut, French lessons will probably go at the end of this academic year as well.

The government aren’t really providing the Vouchers the schools are. The government has put in a scheme that schools have to use and it is poorly administered and takes up a lot of administrative time.

I also don't see why UC payments were increased during the pandemic as unemployed people living on benefits weren't affected by drop in incomes?

Err you do realise a lot of people have had to go into universal credit since the pandemic? They’ve lost their entire incomes. UC isn’t just for people who were already unemployed. There have been loads of new applicants.

People know that many, many universal credit claimants also work, right.

The benefit cap is: £442.31 a week if you are a couple or have children and live in London £384.62 a week if you are a couple or have children and live outside London

You know that includes rent, right?

Also your Council Tax, Energy Bill, Water Bill, Internet

These are considered non negotionable as far as claiming benefits is concerned.

This is before you get to Car, Insurance, possibly some subscription TV or TV Licence and then you can finally get to consumable products which includes food after neccessaries of SanPro, washing powder and so on, so how far is that money going to stretch?

School has been a bit of a catch all for spotting these issues and without that in place there is a large gap and small children are falling through. Hence focus on getting early years back into school. Not sure what the answer is the voucher scheme was plagued with issues and people were going to the till with vouchers and they wouldn't scan and they were taking issue with sorting it claiming vouchers already used when they hadn't been etc. And this wasn't one or two but 100s in one school I am aware of.

Frankly we are walking back to soup kitchens

@TheFormerPorpentiaScamander
I also don't see why UC payments were increased during the pandemic as unemployed people living on benefits weren't affected by drop in incomes?
If you had bothered to check you have realised the increase was for e played people only on tax credits , on UC very few unemployed people benefitted due to the benefit cap.

They announced today that 600,000 people have lost their jobs during lockdown -- so far. They are expecting many more in the near future.

It takes weeks for benefit money to come in.

All the charities that normally help provide food are overwhelmed.

People WILL be going hungry this summer. Feeding children should be a no-brainer, of course with this Tory government it isn't.

Joe Pike on twitter

Here are some numbers for context:

£117m - Food Foundation estimate of cost of extending free school meals in England.

£12 billion/ month - Cost of furloughing scheme.