Row as Black Country council ends vouchers for pupils on free school meals

MPs have accused the new Reform-led administration of Sandwell Council of ‘taking away children’s lunches’ after it ended a scheme to provide free food vouchers over the summer holidays.

Sandwell Council’s cabinet agreed to end the vouchers for pupils on free school meals over the summer, saying it would instead channel the funds into discretionary payments to families suffering specific emergencies, as well as wider support to organisations such as food banks.

Sandwell’s schools break up for the summer today.

The move has been under attack from Sandwell’s four Labour MPs.

Antonia Bance, Sarah Coombes, Alex Ballinger and Gurinder Singh Goshan said the council was taking away ‘direct, practical support from some of the poorest families in Sandwell at a time when they were facing additional pressure.

“During the school holidays, low-income families have to meet the extra cost of lunches that would otherwise have been provided during the school day,” they wrote in a letter to council leader Ray Nock.

“For many households, this is the difference between getting through the week and being pushed further into hardship.”

But Councillor Ray Nock demanded an apology, accusing the MPs of scaremongering, saying he was not cutting funding.

He said all the money allocated by government would go towards alleviating hardship.

Councillor Nock said payments of up to £50 would be made available to anyone who was struggling at any time, not just families whose children receive benefit-related free school meals.

He said hard-up families would be eligible for up to three £50 payments in a 12-month period, and the council would be setting aside £2 million on ‘resilience’ projects to help families avoid welfare dependency.

Councillor Gary Dale, cabinet member for finance, said the Government had changed the way it structured support for struggling families, and was now giving the council a grant of £7.6 million over the next three years.

This replaced a previous scheme where the local authority was required to distribute vouchers on behalf of the Government. That scheme had been launched by the previous Conservative government following pressure from England star Marcus Rashford.

Councillor Dale said: "We want to make sure we make the most of this money to make a real difference for Sandwell residents. It’s about a ‘hand up’ rather than a ‘handout’.”

“Everyone can face hard times. A sudden bill, a change in circumstances or rising costs can quickly put pressure on household finances.

"We want people to know that support is available, and the council is here to help when you need it.”

He said the money would be used to help people through a crisis, rather than being given out on a blanket basis.

“By targeting our support, and giving that hand up when it’s needed, we aim to make sure residents have the knowledge, skills and confidence to stay financially secure,” he said.

Miss Bance, MP for Tipton and Wednesbury, said the vouchers provided much-needed support for families struggling with the cost of living.

“Children don’t stop needing lunch when term ends,” she said.

“For families already struggling to get by, holiday food vouchers are practical support at a time when household budgets are under real pressure.

“Reform councillors promised to stand up for local people and help with the cost of living. Taking this support away would make life harder for the very families they claimed they would

help.”

Under the new scheme, £1.45 million has been earmarked for housing payments, and £1.34 million for crisis support payments.

£1.85 million will be set aside for the council tax hardship fund, additional rental cost support, payments to children leaving care and to foster carers, ‘welcoming spaces’ and support to food banks.

Just under £500,000 will be allocated to a welfare rights team, and £2 million for new ‘resilience pilot projects’ supporting food security, healthy living, financial resilience, skills development and access to employment.