News

Graham Allen, MP for Nottingham North, has joined local primary school head teachers and expressed concern over recent media suggestions that the Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM) scheme could be scrapped.

Allen said: "Nottingham North Primary School heads are as anxious as I am about the proposal to scrap school dinners. They have, at their own cost, installed new kitchens to deliver this scheme.

“Yet before it can be properly evaluated for its impact on pupils performance at school, they are shutting the door. They never liked this scheme - we all know that - but schools have gone to a huge amount of trouble and effort to deliver it. This will be a slap in the face for them and for the hard-pressed families it supports in low income areas like ours.

"This decision also underlines how little the government is protecting the education budget which is vital for the future success of our children and our country.

"This comes at a time the government is cutting tax credits for working families. This decision will see 5,000 local families in Nottingham North lose an average of £1,000 a year and directly increase levels of poverty in Britain.

"There is a very real risk that scrapping free school meals combined with tax credit cuts could see millions of children going hungry as a result of this decision."

Five local primary head teachers are quoted on Graham Allen’s website and all praise the scheme for the positive impact it has had on children’s health and supporting parents.

Loretta Sheppard, Glade Hill Primary and Nursery School, said: “This agenda causes further difficulties for our communities in terms of affordability but also children suffering in terms of healthy eating, many children do not eat breakfast and then are given unacceptable 'packed' lunches resulting in many children not having a hot meal at any time during the day! Free School Meals should be a basic right!”