Less food for families on free school meals over summer holidays

There are concerns that summer-holiday support for pupils on free school meals won't help as much as in previous years.

This is for different reasons in different parts of the country.

In England, many councils offer vouchers or money to help during the holidays - but with the cost of food rising, the money doesn't buy as much food as it would have in the past.

This is known as food inflation. Simply put, inflation refers to the rise in the cost of goods and services over a period of time.

Most councils in England - 67 of 92 councils - have either cut the amount of money they give to families, or kept the support the same as last year.

Support has ended completely in Northern Ireland and varies across Wales and Scotland.

Rising prices of food in shops means that food vouchers and money given to families doesn't stretch as far

What is food inflation and how does it work?

In England, a family with three children who are all entitled to free school meals during term time and vouchers worth £75 each for the summer holidays, would find that they can now buy less food with that money.

A food shop that would have been £75 last year, would now cost around £88.

This is because there has been big increases in the price of many common food items.

What help is given to families in England?

The funding for this summer's food vouchers for families in England comes from the government's £842m Household Support Fund (HSF).

Of the 153 local authorities in England, 92 shared information on the payments and vouchers:

• 10 have given lower payments or vouchers than last year

• 57 have kept the amounts the same

• 25 have increased the value but 10 of those by less than food inflation

Most councils in England also offer a Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme, with events providing childcare, healthy meals and activities for children from low-income families.

The HAF is separate to the HSF and specifically aims to support children eligible for free school meals.

The government department responsible - the Department of Education - says it is taking action in England "to support families and boost children's life chances".

Child Poverty Action Group chief executive Alison Garnham says: "We've reached a low point if it's hit and miss whether children get the food they need in summer, depending on where they live."

"The underlying problem is that so many families don't have enough money to live on year round and that's on central government - not local authorities - to tackle."

What help is given to families in Northern Ireland?

A school principal in Londonderry in Northern Ireland said cutting the funding would mean more people using food banks

Families in Northern Ireland no longer receive help to buy food over the school holidays, even for those on free school meals.

Since July 2020, families of 96,000 children eligible for free school meals had received £27 per child each fortnight during school holidays.

But earlier this year Northern Ireland's Department of Education (DE) - which is different to the one in England - said it was ending the scheme "with great reluctance" but it no longer had funding.

The latest figures for the 2022/23 school year show that more than 96,300 children in Northern Ireland are entitled to free school meals - about 30% of the entire school population.

This mean that more than 96,000 children who would be able to get support in the other UK nations are receiving none.

There are no holiday activity schemes in Northern Ireland either.

What help is given to families in Wales?

The Welsh government has also ended funding for food during the holidays for children on free school meals.

Instead, it is spending £4.85m on a holiday scheme where children can attend an activity and have a meal.

Some local councils have also been handing out payments from their own budgets, with north west Wales authority Gwynedd spending £316,000 of its own budget to give parents cash over the holiday.

What help is given to families in Scotland?

Support also varies from council to council in Scotland, with differences depending on where people live,

Inverclyde offers a total of £102 per child for the holiday, whereas in Edinburgh it is £85.

The Scottish government said it had £21.75m in funding for children eligible for free school meals to be supported over the holidays.