TORY ministers have been left red-faced after repeatedly dismissing calls to provide free school meals in England, only for the Prime Minister to announce a dramatic U-turn.
The Westminster Government had come under increasing pressure to extend a free school meal voucher scheme through the summer holidays after footballer Marcus Rashford launched a high-profile campaign demanding action to help disadvantaged children. The proposals were initially dismissed, with UK ministers becoming increasingly flustered when trying to justify the decision.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps came under fire after seemingly suggesting that the Government had to choose between providing cancer treatment or free meals for pupils. Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey was also criticised for a “heartless” response to an appeal from Rashford for ministers to change their minds.
READ MORE: Tory Grant Shapps stuns viewers with comment on free school meals
It came as Nicola Sturgeon announced free school meals will be extended in Scotland throughout the summer. The First Minister pledged a further £12.6 million in funding to local authorities to continue the programme, which is available to around 175,000 children. The scheme will also be rolled out beyond term time in Wales.
No 10 eventually caved in, announcing a £120m voucher scheme for 1.3m vulnerable children. Johnson later said he had spoken with Rashford and congratulated him on his campaign, which the PM claimed he had first heard about yesterday – despite his official spokesman responding directly to the campaign on Monday.
The England striker, who wrote an open letter to MPs recounting his own experiences of relying on free school meals as a child, kept up the pressure on social media yesterday after Downing Street rejected his proposals on Monday. He tweeted: “When you wake up this morning and run your shower, take a second to think about parents who have had their water turned off during lockdown ... And when you head to the fridge to grab the milk, stop and recognise that parents of at least 200,000 children across the country this morning are waking up to empty shelving.”
He added: “Recognise children around the country are this morning innocently questioning ‘why?’. Nine out of 30 children in any given classroom are today asking ‘why? Why does our future not matter?’”
After the post was shared by a journalist, Coffey’s only comment was: “Water cannot be disconnected though.” The response was dubbed “tone-deaf” on Good Morning Britain, while social media users called the Tory minister’s comment “heartless” as well as “dismissive, flippant, arrogant and detached from reality”.
Coffey later tweeted Rashford, saying she welcomes his “passion for supporting children” and said the Government will “continue to support the economy” during lockdown.
Meanwhile, transport chief Shapps spent the morning defending his government’s refusal to extend the scheme in a series of TV interviews.
During an interview with ITV News, he was asked what could possibly be more important than ensuring a child has a meal.
“Well, providing a cancer operation,” Shapps replied, before claiming that he did not mean the decision was not an “either-or”.
He added: “I think parents should be able to of course feed their children, which is why we have a furlough scheme to ensure people are still in work.”
Asked if he was suggesting that ministers face a choice between feeding a child and providing cancer operations, Shapps said: “There is no play-off between one and the other, both of those things are important.”
The comments were also branded “tone deaf” by outraged social media users. One comment read: “Shame. This shows how out-of-touch and tone deaf this government is.”
READ MORE: Ian Blackford hits out at PM over free school meals letter claim
Giving in to public pressure, Downing Street announced its U-turn on school meals in England. It is understood payment to eligible families will be through a one-off six-week voucher given at the end of term to use in supermarkets.
Announcing the extension of the scheme in Scotland, Sturgeon commented: “I can confirm that this provision will be extended throughout the summer holiday period, we know families are under considerable financial pressures and free school meals are a help to many.”
The FM added that £15m will be made available to councils to continue to provide extra support to those in severe poverty or who face other barriers to accessing food.
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