£610,000 awarded to help feed hungry children in Telford this winter

The £170 million Covid Winter Grant Scheme was announced by the government over the weekend and will be split between local authorities across the country to provide support to families in need.

It has been labelled a U-turn by many following England footballer Marcus Rashford's campaign to extend free school meals was voted against.

A total of £609,359.45 has been awarded to Telford & Wrekin Council to set up the provision. Shropshire Council has also been awarded a share of the fund.

The money will be ring-fenced, with at least 80 per cent earmarked to support with food and bills, and will cover the period to the end of March 2021. Local authorities will receive the funding at the beginning of December.

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It comes after all five MPs across Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin voted against extending free school meals to children throughout winter.

Telford MP Lucy Allan said: "No child should ever go hungry, and the extra £609,359.45 for Telford & Wrekin Council will ensure local families that need extra support with food and bills this winter can access it, which is very welcome news."

The government is also set to invest a further £220 million in extending the Holiday and Food Programme until next Christmas, meaning that all children eligible for free school meals will have the option to join a holiday-time programme that provides healthy food and fun activities during the summer, Christmas and Easter holidays next year.

Ms Allan added: “I’m also pleased that the Prime Minister has announced the extension of the Holiday Activities and Food programme, which provides healthy food and activities for children during the school holidays and has a massive impact on disadvantaged young people in our community, to cover Easter, summer and Christmas next year.

“Investing in children’s future is central to the Conservative Party’s mission to level up and extend opportunity across the country, and with this additional support we can prevent the hunger we know is so damaging to a child’s life chances.

"To support people during this challenging time, the Conservative government has invested more than £200 billion to protect people’s jobs and incomes through the furlough scheme, grants for the self-employed and other support for business and a £9.3 billion injection to strengthen the welfare safety net this year."