Over 3,000 people in Herefordshire have signed Marcus Rashford’s petition, calling for an end to child food poverty in the United Kingdom.
Both Bill Wiggin (MP for North Herefordshire) and Jesse Norman (MP for Hereford and Herefordshire South) voted against a motion put forward by The Labour Party and backed by footballer Marcus Rashford, to extend free school meals so that they were available for struggling families during the school holidays until Easter 2021.
In Hereford and Herefordshire South, 1,193 people have signed the petition and in addition to that, 1,083 people in North Herefordshire have also signed the petition.
It comes as both MP’s have defended their position on free school meals.
MP Bill Wiggin said:
“I recognise the strength of feeling about this issue, we all want to do what we can to alleviate child food poverty. The Government has taken significant action to make sure children and their families do not go hungry during this pandemic.
“This has included extending free school meals support to those eligible when schools were partially closed, increasing universal credit by £20 a week, funding councils to provide emergency food assistance to families, and allocating £63 million to councils for families in hardship.
“The national free school meals voucher scheme saw over £380 million worth of voucher codes redeemed into supermarket e-gift cards by schools and families with over 20,000 schools placing orders. Ministers have also supported families through this difficult period with almost £53 billion worth of income protection schemes, and £9.3 billion of additional welfare payments.
“Ministers also took the unprecedented step this year of extending the free school meals programme over the summer holidays.
“As you will know, provision for free school meals is ordinarily term time only, but I think it was right that Ministers recognised the extremely difficult situation families were put in by coronavirus and took the unprecedented action they did.
“However, we are now in a different position to the one we were in in the summer with all our schools back open.
It is important to remember that free school meals are not a general welfare measure.
“They are aimed at providing healthy meals for children in school to ensure disadvantaged students can learn to the best of their ability.
“I believe that the best way to support families all year round is through Universal Credit, rather than the Government subsidising meals for families in their own homes.
A wide range of financial and other support is already available to help families, such as the £9 million summer holiday activities and food programme.
“I was glad to see that the recent debate recognised the steps the Government has taken.
“The language used by Labour does a great disservice to those they claim to represent. I do not want to see any child go hungry and it must be remembered that we all seek to reach the same end just by different means. I hope this explains why I voted the way I did.”
MP Jesse Norman said:
“No MP thinks any child should go hungry, least of all me.
“The argument is being portrayed as an argument about principles, but in fact it is an argument about how to achieve a goal we all share.
“In Herefordshire, for example, we have approximately 3,200 children on free school meals, who are supported by the Council, by local voluntary groups and by private businesses and individuals.
“The key question is how to help the families and the children involved, and the Government does that through existing schemes such as Universal Credit, which have been uplifted and complemented by new funding and new schemes in a large number of different ways.
“This work goes on, and as I have said, more may be needed, and needed soon. But the key issue is not one that can be resolved in a three hour debate, only by careful and detailed policy work.”
