Marcus Rashford’s appeal to the government to not discontinue free school meal plea has been rejected; cited his own real-life experience.
Marcus Rashford made a warm gesture last night when he wrote a letter to all the member of parliaments over providing free school meals to Children citing the economical pressure parents are facing amidst the pandemic. However, the Prime Minister and Department for Education have said the scheme will end with the school term.
According to MEN, a spokesman for Boris Johnson said: “The PM understands the issues facing families across the UK which is why last week the government announced an additional £63m for local authorities to benefit families who are struggling to afford food and other basic essentials.”
The Prime Minister expects schools to make food parcels available for collection or delivery and schools can continue to offer vouchers to eligible students.
But the government will not be funding the provision in the same way during the holidays and it has been announced that the funding is not nearly enough to cover the estimated £115m cost of providing free school meals.
The spokesman said the Prime Minister will respond to Marcus Rashford’s letter as soon as he can. He added: “He’s been using his profile in a positive way to highlight some very important issues.”
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “As schools open more widely, and their kitchens reopen, we expect schools to make food parcels available for collection or delivery for any children that are eligible for free school meals who are not yet able to return to school. Where this is not possible, schools can continue to offer vouchers to eligible pupils.
“Free schools meals are ordinarily termed time only, and the national voucher scheme will not run during the summer holidays. However, as announced this week by the Prime Minister, the local authority welfare assistance scheme will provide help with those who are struggling to afford food and other essentials due to the impact of COVID-19. £63 million pounds is being allocated to this important project.”
“Thousands of children will also receive additional support through our Holiday Activities and Food programme, which offers activities and free meals throughout the summer holidays.”
Even though the government is not ready to comply with the request placed by Manchester United star, yet he managed to gather huge support on social media for his efforts and philanthropic work he has been doing amidst the Covid-19 lockdown.
