Rayner says she'd 'love' free school meals for primary kids as Labour hold out
Angela Rayner has admitted she would “love” to give free school meals to every primary pupil as she opened up about receiving free lunches as a child.
But Labour’s Deputy Leader resisted mounting calls to give free dinners to all primary kids regardless of income, as she said there was “not an endless supply of money”. Instead she backed her party’s commitment to offer free school breakfasts to kids instead.
Speaking about her own experience of having free school meals, Ms Rayner said: “For the first half of my day I was not looking for education, I was looking at, ‘How do we get to dinner and what I'm going to eat’ because I was waiting for the free school meal. So the lessons before school dinner, I was basically not with it, I was hungry and I wasn't concentrating very well.”
The Mirror and National Education Union are campaigning for all primary children in England to get free school meals. But Ms Rayner said the economy was in a “terrible place”, adding: "We've been very clear about the fiscal goals that we have to keep to."
Angela Rayner said the economy was in a 'terrible place' (Getty Images)Ms Rayner, who was speaking at an Institute for Government event, went on: "We've looked at the evidence and know that the free breakfast club is going to have the biggest impact and that's why we've prioritised to do that.
Teachers, civil servants and train drivers walk out in biggest strike in decade
“If we do get into Government, the situation economically is not going to be a great one so we have to do priorities and the priorities in that area, which I agree with, is about giving free school breakfasts rather than free school meals to every child. I would love to do that. But at the moment, we're saying breakfast and I absolutely agree that that policy is the right thing to do."
Keir Starmer last week refused to back free school meals for all primary school children if Labour comes to power - saying it's too expensive. He faces calls from within the party, with leaders in London and Wales committing to the measure.
Labour MP Sharon Hodgson broke ranks to urge the Labour leader to commit to extending free lunches to all primary kids, as she told the Mirror the stigma of receiving free school meals stayed with her all her life.
Meanwhile, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, who has backed the Mirror's campaign, has confirmed plans for an emergency £135million for free school meals for state primary school children across the capital for the next academic year. Up to 270,000 children are set to benefit, with families saving an average of £440 per child.
Latest polling shows around one in six parents or guardians of children aged between five and 11 years are going without essentials, including food, electricity or gas.
Mr Khan said: “It is truly shocking that so many families across the capital are struggling to feed themselves as they deal with the escalating cost-of-living crisis. It simply cannot be right that in a city as prosperous as ours around one in six parents are going without essentials to get by.
"I’m determined to do all I can to help and know from personal experience what a lifeline free school meals can be. That is why I stepped forward with this unprecedented funding to provide hundreds of thousands of primary school children with free schools meals. By ensuring children don’t go hungry in the classroom and helping their families, we can build a better and more prosperous city for all Londoners.”
Rishi Sunak has been urged to overturn strict eligibility rules that mean more than 800,000 kids living in poverty are missing out on free lunches. The Scottish and Welsh governments has pledged to introduce universal free school meals.
The Lib Dems have also thrown their weight behind the Mirror’s campaign to give all primary school children free school meals. Munira Wilson, the party's education spokeswoman, said the move would be “crucial” for youngsters and expressed “disappointment” at Mr Starmer’s rejection of the plan.
Speaking about Mr Khan's move to extend free lunchs in London, Naomi Duncan, Chief Executive of Chefs in Schools, said: “We welcome providing primary school children in London with free school meals. We’ve seen and heard first hand of children hiding their hunger out of shame, of schools having to fund extra meals from teaching budgets.
8 money changes coming in February including Universal Credit and passport fees
"Beyond hunger, we see every day the benefits of children eating a hot nutritious meal, with teachers reporting children are more engaged, alert and able to learn in the afternoon. We would urge the Government to be inspired by London and to put up funding to ensure firstly that every child at risk of hunger receives a school meal, and, ultimately, to move towards a future where we stop means testing this part of the school day entirely.”
Barbara Crowther of the Children’s Food Campaign, said: “This is a truly groundbreaking moment for London’s primary schools to ensure every child, regardless of their family background, has equal access to a healthy, tasty meal. We know that when all children eat well, it leads to happier, healthier classrooms with more concentration and better learning.
"However, it still leaves a school food postcode lottery in the rest of the country, and we also need to find solutions for secondary school children whose families are living in poverty but are still not eligible for free school meals. We hope this move by the Mayor of London will lead to a serious rethink of national Government policy because every child in every place deserves the same nutritional support to learn and achieve whilst in school.”
* Follow Mirror Politics on , , and .
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
