School Breakfast Clubs

In 2019-20, there was no region in England where child poverty was not a major problem. Even before the pandemic, four million children in the UK were growing up in poverty.

Child poverty wastes potential and harms our country’s success and prosperity. More importantly, it hurts children, not just in the future, but as they grow up. It harms their health and holds back their learning. It damages their sense of self-esteem and wellbeing. This Government must rededicate itself to tackling the scourge of child poverty.

The National Food Strategy plan recommended that eligibility for free school meals be extended. However, the Government’s Food Strategy, published in June, did not extend the provision of free school meals and instead stated that eligibility will be kept “under review”.

The Government’s strategy could have been an opportunity to ensure that every family has access to healthy, affordable and sustainable food. However, there were no concrete proposals in it to tackle the major issues facing this country. With prices soaring in the shops and on energy bills, as well as the cost of petrol, I am worried this shows a lack of vision or a plan for Britain. Our children deserve better.

We must ensure children are not going hungry and missing out on the fun, enriching childhood experiences that we want every young person to benefit from. I believe we need an ambitious plan to put children at the heart of our ambition for Britain. Right now this should include breakfast clubs to give every child a healthy meal to start their day, more time to play with their friends and extra time for teachers to provide targeted recovery support, ensuring every child is supported to achieve and thrive.