Council will give £15 vouchers to families
EAST Riding Council is set to give £15 vouchers for each child eligible for free school meals to families, with applications lications opening today.
The council said d in a statement it was making more e than £100,000 in emergency funding available to support the 7,500 eligible children in the county through the holidays.
East Riding Council leader Richard Burton said: “As a council, l, we are determined ed to help families who rely on free school meals.
“We want to make sure children who usually receive free school meals during term-time do not go hungry in the school holidays.
“We have worked quickly to try to find the most efficient solution and we hope that these payments will help to ease the worries of families in these difficult times.
“We also thank the businesses and organisations around the East Riding which have shown a wonderful community spirit and made generous offers to help families who receive free school meals.”
A council spokesperson said families with eligible children can apply anytime between today and Monday, November 30.
The spokesperson added families would be required to fill out an e-form on the council’s website, or they could call its Welfare Assistance helpline.
The money will then be paid directly into their bank account.
Cllr Paul Nickerson, Conservative ward member for Minster and Woodmansey, said the move showed what could be done when the council worked on behalf of the vulnerable.
He joined Cllr Kerri Harold and Cllr David Elvidge to jointly call on the East Riding to step in on Friday after a Labour motion proposing to extend meals over the holidays was voted down in Parliament.
The vote followed a high-profile campaign from England football star Marcus Rashford and has since seen businesses and charities step in to offer aid to struggling families.
Cllr Nickerson said: “This shows that this council cares, I can’t praise them enough for it.
“It shows they’re supporting everyone in the community, they’ve done a great job of that already during the pandemic.
“But school meals is a binary issue, we either put them on or we don’t.
“Parents, especially those in my ward who are struggling, will be grateful they’ve done this.”