PM finds £170m to defuse Rashford school meals row

THE Prime Minister sought to defuse the damaging free school meals row with Marcus Rashford last night with a £170 million bid to ensure poor children do not go hungry this winter.

Boris Johnson rang the footballer to say he was launching a Covid Winter Grant scheme to help the hardest-hit families and individuals, as well as provide food for children who need it over the holidays.

UK Ministers also announced longer-term plans to provide disadvantaged children in England with healthy food from a £220 million programme to cover the Easter, summer and Christmas holidays next year.

The Scottish Government had already pledged to fund extra schools meals during holidays. Last month, SNP Social Security Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville announced more than £10 million for the extension of free school meals.

In reply to UK Ministers, Rashford – who was made an MBE for his campaign to get more than a million children free school meal vouchers during the summer holidays – tweeted: ‘Just had a great conversation with the Prime Minister, now is the time for collaboration’.

UK Government sources hailed the new initiative as ‘more generous and more ambitious’ than the £15 a week given to 1.4 million poorer children following the Manchester United star’s actions.

Last night, school heads union the NAHT said that the extra cash ‘will come as a welcome relief to many’.

But some Tory MPs privately branded the plans as another U-turn – and demanded to know why they had been forced to vote down a Commons motion last month calling for free school meals support to be extended throughout the holidays.

Rashford had spoken of his ‘despair’ after the Government rejected calls to repeat the vouchers help this winter.

The new cash – which will be distributed via local councils from next month – will be seen as an attempt to counter that criticism.

Separately, the existing ‘holidays, activities and food’ programme in England will be expanded to all the main school holidays next year.

Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey said: ‘We are making sure families get the help they need.’

But one senior Tory MP said: ‘While this is welcome, the Government should be putting money directly into people’s pockets – not lining the coffers of town hall bureaucrats who will spend some of this vital cash on administration.’