Free school meals: Doncaster and Sheffield councils join campaign

Doncaster's mayor Ros Jones said the vouchers would be paid for by the local authority

Doncaster Council and Sheffield City Council will provide food vouchers over half term after a motion to extend free school meals was rejected by MPs.

The campaign was championed by footballer Marcus Rashford, who called on people to "unite" to protect the most vulnerable children.

A Labour motion in the Commons to extend the scheme over holidays until Easter 2021 was defeated, on Wednesday.

Doncaster's mayor Ros Jones said it was "the right thing to do".

Following the defeat in the Commons, restaurants, cafes, takeaways and other food venues from across the country have shared offers of free meals for children over half term.

Rashford, who places for Manchester United and England and was recently made an MBE in the delayed Queen's birthday honours, succeeded in a campaign to provide free school meal vouchers to 1.3m children in England in the summer holidays.

Julie Dore, leader of Sheffield City Council, said "no child should go hungry",

The government said all measures would be kept under review and that there was an extra £9bn in support available through the welfare system.

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Posting on Twitter, Ms Jones described Wednesday's vote - which was defeated by 322 votes to 261 - as "shameful".

She said the £15 per child per week would be administered by individual schools and paid for by the council, with more than 11,000 children eligible in Doncaster.

The council said 22,000 children in Sheffield are currently in receipt of free school meals and will receive a voucher, meaning a total cost to the local authority of £330,000.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he would not change his policy on free school meals, arguing poor families were supported by the benefits system.

At Prime Minister's Questions, Mr Johnson told MPs: "We support kids of low incomes in school and we will continue to do so."

But Mrs Dore said that as Sheffield moves into Tier Three of coronavirus restrictions the city "will be facing financial hardship, especially as we enter the winter months".

"The vouchers will provide support to people who are most in need and even though the council budget is under massive pressures due to COVID-19, it feels like the right thing to do," she said.

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