We need to provide all pupils with free meals
WEST Lancashire Borough Council is to call for universal free school meals to be given out in the borough.
The Labour group was due to raise a motion at last night’s cabinet meeting calling for the policy to be implemented over fears 22,000 children in the county are missing out.
It comes after the government changed the eligibility of families entitled to a free school meal, meaning that families which earn more than £7,400 annually – or £142 a week – and claim Universal Credit (UC) are no longer entitled.
The motion, submitted by Cllr Claire Cooper on behalf of Labour, accuses the government of targeting the most vulnerable families and brandishes the policy an “attack on low-paid families” which is “taking food out of children’s mouths”. It also points out that the decision negatively affects school budgets, as well as harming the well-being of pupils.
It states: “Research by the Children Society shows that up to a million children could miss out on free school meals.
“Research by Rosie Cooper MP has found that this will mean 22,936 children across Lancashire won’t get free school meals.
“The protections put in place by the policy will ensure that children who are currently receiving free meals will still do so until 2023 or until they have finished their current phase of education.
“Any loss of free school meal provision will also mean a cut to school budgets, as schools will also lose Pupil Premium.”
Cllr Cooper’s motion requests that the borough’s chief executive, Kim Webber, write to Lancashire County Council to explore the possibility of providing free meals to all pupils and to ensure that families are aware of the changes.
It also calls on the council’s leader, Cllr Ian Moran, to write to the Secretary of State for Education and the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to advise them of the impact of the policy in West Lancashire and to ask for a review.