Many thanks to those who contacted me about child food poverty.
I applaud the work Mr Rashford has done to highlight the issue of food poverty, and I was pleased to hear that his efforts have been recognised with an MBE.
On the issue of free school meals, the Government moved swiftly to put in place innovative and extensive support during a very difficult time. Last year's national voucher scheme saw a total of £380 million worth of claims being made, which ensured eligible children continued to receive food during the period of school closures. To ensure children did not go hungry over Christmas, the COVID Winter Grant Scheme, worth £170 million, was put in place to enable councils to support local families, and was extended by £59.1 million until 16 April 2021. Re-named the COVID Local Support Grant, the scheme continued until 20 June 2021 with funding of £40 million. During the period of school closures in the last academic year, eligible children continued to receive free school meals, either via the national voucher scheme, a local voucher scheme or food parcels.
As well as the immediate response to the pandemic, Ministers have announced policies to address the issue of food poverty in the longer term. The Holiday Activities and Food programme, which has provided healthy food and enriching activities to disadvantaged children since 2018, is being expanded across England this year. The programme, which supported children during the Easter holidays, will continue to do so during the Christmas holidays in 2021, costing up to £220 million. It is available to children in every local authority in England and builds on previous programmes, including last year's that supported around 50,000 children across 17 local authorities.
In the recent Spending Review the Government announced a commitment to increasing funding for Healthy Start Vouchers by £25.8 million. This means that vouchers will now be worth £4.25 per week, which is in line with the recommendation from Part One of the National Food Strategy Paper.
I am glad to hear of the establishment of the Child Food Poverty Taskforce and to hear that the Government has said it will take note of any recommendations in the future.
I will continue to monitor this issue. Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.