By Andrew Topping, Local Democracy Reporter
Nottinghamshire County Council has confirmed it will be providing free school meals vouchers to eligible families during the two-week Easter break next month.
The announcement comes after concerns were raised by some councillors the scheme was not going ahead during the school holidays, with fears the council was instead prioritising play events offering free food to families.
Information on how to access the vouchers will be provided on the council’s website in the coming hours and days, with a leading councillor confirming schools have also been informed about the voucher scheme.
Thousands of children are eligible for the vouchers across Nottinghamshire, with figures released in October last year confirming 23,649 were eligible for free school meals in April 2021.
An update in the council chamber during a meeting on Thursday (March 31) confirmed this figure has risen to about 25,000.
And speaking in the full council meeting, Councillor Michael Payne (Lab), who represents Arnold North, called on the Conservative-led authority to outline the support measures it is offering struggling families this Easter.
He said: “Would the [council] please provide an update to the chamber and all elected members on the Notts Holiday Activity and Fund Programme provision for 2022’s Easter school holidays?
“I know this will be a concern for everybody across the chamber.”
In response, Cllr Tracey Taylor (Con), chairman of the children and young people’s committee, said: “Notts County Council will, once again, be providing the free school meal vouchers to thousands of Nottinghamshire children during the Easter holidays.
“The scheme will again be using money from the Government’s Household Support Fund following the Chancellor’s announcement in the spring budget that he’s doubling the HSF investment to £1 billion.
“This is great news for the 25,000 eligible youngsters across the county, who will receive 125,000 meal vouchers.
“It confirms our ongoing commitment to helping low-income households as we continue to recover from the effects of the Covid pandemic.”
She added parents in the county can find out if their child is eligible for free school meal vouchers by visiting the authority’s website, but a link will also be provided on the Holiday and Activity Fund page.
Cllr Payne welcomed the response but asked that information on the vouchers gets out to schools and parents “in good time”.
He said one school in his division this week put out a notice to parents suggesting the vouchers will not be available during the holidays and asked to ensure schools are now aware of the voucher scheme’s return.
He also asked whether Cllr Taylor supported the Local Government Association’s proposed reforms which could auto-enrol families onto the free school meals system.
This, he said, would take the “obligation off the individual parent” and bring 215,000 children nationally into the system without changing any eligibility criteria.
Responding, Cllr Taylor said: “I can reassure you the information was communicated directly to all schools on Tuesday this week, it has gone out already.
“The announcement was made last Wednesday and we’ve had to go through internal processes.
“Now we’ve spoken in the chamber today, mainstream comms will be going out today to reinforce that message.”
She added: “I can’t see why, in any process for any facility, one would not seek to do some form of cascading or auto-connection, to actually make the lives of children and families easier in accessing the benefits and extra support they need.”
The value of the vouchers was doubled during the February half-term holiday from £15 to £30-per-week.
The authority said this includes £15 to help feed the child and an additional £15 to help families meet cost-of-living increases.
