I do believe the Government has a responsibility to support children so they do not go hungry. However I do not believe that responsibility should be taken away from parents altogether.
That is why I welcome the measures that the Government has taken in recent months to financially support families during this pandemic and address the root causes of food poverty. This includes increasing Universal Credit payments, providing funding for local authorities to support vulnerable children, and the unprecedented measures to protect jobs and businesses throughout the pandemic.
However the Labour motion that I voted against would have achieved nothing. It was a political stunt, so let me set out the facts for you, which I hope will reassure you on this matter.
Like me, I am sure you were pleased to hear the Government’s announcement that eligible children were still able to get free school meals during the period of partial school closures and over the summer holidays, part of the unprecedented amount of support that was provided to the British people by the Government during this difficult period.
It was right that the Government provided these meals for children at a time when the boundaries between home and education were blurred.
However, schools and kitchens are now open again, and things are going back to normal. Eligible pupils are once again receiving free school meals, even those who are self-isolating as schools are working with suppliers to deliver meals to children at home.
Provision for free schools meals is something that is ordinarily only available during term time and there is no requirement for schools to continue this provision during school holidays.
Extending Free School Meals to over the school holidays would mean effectively handing over responsibility for feeding our kids from parents to the Government and I do not believe that this is right.
There were also significant issues around the holiday scheme, that meant it was not workable in the long term. Schools had to either distribute food directly, or give out vouchers for parents to buy food themselves.
With supermarket vouchers, it was impossible for schools to ensure that they were used correctly and not on alcohol, tobacco or unhealthy food.
In terms of schools distributing food themselves during the holiday, this was initially done by volunteers, but that was not a sustainable solution.
The Labour Party have offered no answers about who would cook and distribute food parcels, how extra staffing hours would be covered and whether they intended to renegotiate staff contracts.
These were just some of the problems that meant that the scheme was not feasible long term, problems which the Labour Party were aware of, but could not address in the debate.
The vote in the House of Commons was just part of their political posturing. It was stunt which even had it been passed, would have not had any practical effect.
Instead of playing politics, the Government is doing an awful lot at the moment to support the most vulnerable children and solve the longer term problems of food poverty, measures which I fully support.
The Government have also increased the money going into Universal Credit by £9.3 billion, meaning the average family have seen an annual increase of £1040 and Local Authorities have received a share of £63 million to get food to those most in need, both young and old.
They have also announced a £1 billion catch up plan to support pupils affected by the pandemic.
So as M.P., my priority is to support policies that will help families in need and not political point scoring, which is really what the motion Labour put forward was about.
Our Government is increasing its support to children and families in need, focusing on investment in our children’s future and proper long-term solutions to tackle food inequality and food poverty, which is exactly what they should be doing.
