Lancashire County Council welcomes free school meal vouchers this half term as more families than ever are set to struggle

Lancashire County Council have welcomed the news that free school meal vouchers will be given to struggling families to help with the cost of food during the October half-term next week.

Families whose children receive benefits-related free school meals will receive the vouchers, following the recent launch of the government's Household Support Fund (HSF) grant, which aims to support households in the most need with food, energy and water bills.

Through the fund, schools can support eligible pupils with a £15 voucher to cover the one-week holiday, and it is available to families with children from reception age up to Year 11.

County Councillor Jayne Rear, cabinet member for education and skills, said: "I welcome this news from the government as it means that some eligible families will continue to receive support whilst the schools are closed for the half-term break.

"We're pleased that the government has announced this new grant, as we can use it to help some of our families. Unfortunately, school holidays can be a real challenge for our poorest families in Lancashire. The vouchers will help to ensure that children will be able to have healthy and nourishing meals during the holiday."

If a family is eligible for free school meals, their school will have been in touch with them about the voucher scheme, and will distribute the electronic shopping vouchers accordingly.

Similar to the term-time voucher scheme, the vouchers can be used to buy food at a range of supermarkets, including Aldi, Asda, McColl’s, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Waitrose, Company Shop Group and Iceland, including The Food Warehouse Stores.

Families can redeem vouchers by either presenting them on their smartphone or tablet, or a paper copy.

The voucher scheme comes as local foodbanks recently announced they were going to rally round and support up to 500 families this half term, as they expect service demand to increase.

Noor Foodbank, the Here for Humanity organisation and the Whitby Pantry at the Intact Centre are among those pledging their support for struggling families, and gearing up for a busy week ahead.

Although the free school meal vouchers offer some support, such foodbanks will still provide a vital crutch this half term, as more families than ever are struggling, especially in the wake of the £20 Universal Credit uplift being scrapped earlier this month.

The vouchers from schools will be available to families who are currently receiving Free School Meals, and the following benefits:

- Income Support

- Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance

- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance

- Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999

- The guaranteed element of Pension Credit

- Child Tax Credit

- Working Tax Credit run-on

- Universal Tax Credit

Information about the eligibility criteria for free school meals can be found at www.lancashire.gov.uk/children-education-families/schools/free-school-meals