THE UK Government has finally U-turned after rejecting footballer Marcus Rashford’s calls for free school meals for pupils from low-income families in England to be extended throughout the summer holidays.
The England striker wrote a moving open letter to Tory ministers calling on them to extend the scheme south of the Border, where about 1.3 million children are eligible for the meals. However last night Downing Street insisted the scheme would stop shortly.
Tories have now changed their minds on the policy to stop the scheme when term time ends – in Wales and Scotland, schemes continue all year round.
READ MORE: Marcus Rashford: DWP Secretary slammed for reply to poverty fears
DWP Secretary Therese Coffey is also facing stern criticism for a “tone-deaf” reply to Rashford’s argument for extending the scheme, where he called on Tories to think about families who have had water shut off during lockdown to save money, among other examples.
The Cabinet member replied to say “water cannot be disconnected though” – ignoring his point that families struggling while spending more time at home may be forced to turn off their hot water to save cash.
READ MORE: Free school meals extended in Scotland over the summer - here's what we know
So why were Tories so desperate to stop providing free school meals to hungry children in England during the summer holidays, at a time when more families face financial hardship due to job and income losses from the coronavirus lockdown?
Here’s some things the Tory Government was happy to pay for over meals for low-income children during a time of crisis:
Renewal of the Trident programme – Estimated £205 billion
The UK Government has committed to buying a new generation of nuclear warheads to replace the Trident system, located at the Clyde Naval Base in the west of Scotland. The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament has estimated that the cost of replacing the system will be £205 billion – and that’s without taking into account any overspend at the Ministry of Defence. The Tories pledged to keep the UK’s nuclear deterrent in their 2019 manifesto and the replacement system is expected to be built by the early 2030s.
Annual cost of the monarchy
The cost of having a royal family in the UK changes annually – but was increased from 2017-18 to cover the £368 million costs of updating Buckingham Palace. The Treasury funds the Sovereign Grant, which is a portion of money that funds Britain’s monarchy.
The grant, worth £82.2m in 2018-19, is expected to be £85.9m in 2020-21. However the undisclosed cost of guarding the royal family each year is thought to be about £100m annually – so the cost to the tax payer is higher than official reports suggest.
Delayed Universal Credit – About £500 million
The UK Government’s much criticised welfare reform won’t be fully brought in until September 2024, nine months later than had been estimated.
The policy, which is replacing legacy welfare schemes, has come under fire for its numerous delays and its fuelling of a rise in food bank use in the UK. According to the DWP the rollout delay is set to cost the UK half a billion pounds.
HS2 – Estimated £106 billion
The cost of the UK’s delayed HS2 high-speed rail project could cost as much as £106bn, according to an official government review published earlier this year. The 250mph railway from London to Birmingham will be built; followed by a second phase from Leeds to Manchester which is not expected to be completed until 2040 – seven years later than the original target. There had been plans to lead the railway up to Scotland eventually, but with 20 years to go until it’s expected to get to Leeds, who knows when that could happen …
Preparing for Brexit – Estimated £6.3 billion
According to the Institute for Government think tank, Tories had committed to spend £6.3bn on Brexit preparations up to April 2020. Their analysis showed Theresa May’s government pledged £4.2bn to Brexit prep during her time in Number 10, while Boris Johnson put an estimated £2.1bn to No-Deal prep. This year it’s thought a further £2bn will be spent on No-Deal Brexit planning.
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