Children of parents who lose jobs over summer risk losing free school meals

Children of parents who lose their jobs over the coming weeks risk missing out on free school meals over the summer because of a loophole in the scheme, @LibDems Education spokesperson Layla Moran has warned.

It comes following a wave of job losses this week, with John Lewis and Boots alone cutting 5,300 jobs.

The current government guidelines say you must apply for a voucher for the Covid Summer Food Fund one week before school ends. For the majority of schools that close on 20 July, this means you must apply by Monday 13 July. Only children who qualify for school meals before the end of the term are eligible for support from the fund.

Layla Moran has written to Education Secretary Gavin Williamson warning the rule could mean thousands of children could end up “falling through the cracks”. She has urged the government to urgently close this loophole so that parents who lose their jobs, but miss the current deadline, can still access vouchers through the scheme over the summer. Layla is also calling for more support to help prevent children falling into poverty, including an emergency uplift in child benefit. 

Liberal Democrat Education spokesperson Layla Moran said:

“The deadline of this week means that for those parents sadly losing their jobs as a result of the crisis, it will be too late to apply for free school meals.

“Thousands of children risk falling through the cracks and going hungry over the summer unless this loophole is closed.

“This crisis has shown that, at heart, we are a compassionate country. The government now needs to wake up to that reality and ensure no child is left behind.”

The text of the letter is as follows:

Secretary of State,
 
Dear Gavin,
 
I am writing to urge you to address a current loophole that could see thousands of children miss out on free school meals this summer, under the government’s recently announced Covid Summer Food Fund.
 
I strongly welcomed the announcement of this scheme, which followed a successful campaign by Marcus Rashford, charities and MPs. It was an important step towards ensuring children from disadvantaged backgrounds do not lose out as a result of this crisis.
 
However, I am concerned about the current deadline which states you must apply for a voucher for the Covid Summer Food Fund one week before school ends. For the majority of schools that close on 20 July, this means you must apply by Monday 13 July. For many of the parents sadly losing their jobs as a result of this crisis, that will be too late.
 
This week alone we have seen John Lewis and Boots announce they will be cutting around 5,300 jobs. The country is braced for more job losses in the weeks ahead. This means thousands of children risk falling through the cracks unless urgent action is taken to close this loophole.
 
I would therefore urge you to take action to ensure that parents who fall on hard times after the deadline can still access free school meal vouchers. On top of this, I implore you to introduced an emergency uplift in child benefit, to prevent more children falling into poverty.
 
This crisis has shown that, at heart, we are a compassionate country. The government now needs to wake up to that reality and ensure no child is left behind.
 
Yours sincerely,
 
Layla Moran MP