Free School Meals

Charlotte Nichols Excerpts

Wednesday 21st October 2020 Commons Chamber

[Charlotte Nichols (Warrington North) (Lab)]

Coronavirus has blown away many of the old orthodoxies in politics, and this offensive idea of the undeserving poor—feckless parents unwilling to take responsibility—to which the Conservative party seems so ideologically committed just does not hold water. The universal credit system was barely fit for purpose before covid, but it is now on its knees, with parents being made redundant, their hours slashed, and the support system set up for businesses forced to close, leaving people on as little as 66% of the national minimum wage. Others, including those excluded because they were new starters, have been left with nothing. If parents could pull themselves up by their bootstraps before, they certainly cannot now—and their children cannot either.

I pay tribute to the work of Warrington food bank, the Station House food bank, Friends of Meadowside, and the numerous other voluntary groups across our community in Warrington North, who are doing all they can to ensure that no child goes hungry. But there are almost 4,500 children eligible for free school meals in my constituency, many of whom are vulnerable to falling through the cracks. These are families in every single ward of my constituency, from the inner wards, which have the highest rates of deprivation, to the affluent suburbs. All of them have been using food banks—every single ward. The Government can make a choice today to strengthen that safety net and ensure that no child in Warrington goes hungry.

In financial terms, this is a small ask, but it is a vital one in these exceptional times. If the Government can find the money to pay Serco, they can find the money to ensure that the most vulnerable children in our communities are not going to bed hungry.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Rosie Winterton)]

I call Miriam Cates, who may wish to make a slightly shorter speech given that she made quite a long intervention earlier; that would allow others to come in.