Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Barran on 4 July (HL1123), how those eligible for a free place on the Holiday Activities and Food Programme will be notified of this to ensure that none of those eligible for free school meals will miss out during the summer holidays; and what will be done to ensure that this programme is implemented successfully by local councils across England.

Local authorities have the discretion to provide free or subsidised holiday club places for children who are not in receipt of free school meals, but who the local authority believes could benefit from holiday activities and food (HAF) provision.

Guidance and grant letters provide a clear structure for local authorities in performing their role as HAF coordinators, while encouraging innovation and ensuring the programme is appropriate for the local area. They are encouraged to work with a wide range of organisations and partners across their local area and ensure schools and other services are on board with directing children and families to the programme.

To support local authorities, the department has appointed a national support partner, Childcare Works, which helps local authorities use their funding as effectively as possible and to target their programme at those most in need. Childcare Works facilitates local networks and forums where local authorities can exchange ideas, learn from each other, and work together. The department has also provided local authorities with a communication toolkit to support local promotion of the programme.

The department is working with national and local partners to build on the success of the HAF programme. On 14 June, we held a roundtable event with representatives from supermarkets and sport organisations, many of whom are already providing support to the programme.

The department is monitoring delivery carefully, including through the regular reports that local authorities send to the department. During the summer of 2021, the HAF programme reached over 600,000 children and young people in England in total, including over 495,000 children eligible for free school meals. This means hundreds of thousands of children from low-income families are benefitting from healthy food and better nutrition.