Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that (a) parents and (b) schools are not charged to access telephone support for supermarket vouchers supplied by Edenred for pupils in receipt of free school meals during the outbreak of covid-19.

An Edenred phone number (0333 400 5932) has been set up specifically for the department’s national voucher scheme. Phone calls to this number should cost no more than the national rate and therefore are included within mobile phone and landline contract ‘minutes’ or times and charged at the national rate thereafter.

These are rapidly developing circumstances and we will continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.