PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Free School Meals: Enfield North (7 September 2021)

Schools provide free school meals for eligible pupils during term time only. Beyond that, billions of pounds of welfare assistance is in place to support families, young people and children.

The department has significantly expanded the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme with a £220 million investment in 2021, building on the pilot programme that has been in place since 2018. The programme ran in every English local authority this summer holiday, providing healthy nutritious food and enriching activities to eligible children.

In addition, the Covid Local Support Grant established by the Department for Work and Pensions, operated through local authorities in England, is there to support the hardest hit families and individuals with food and essential utility costs.

This grant was extended with a further investment of £160 million, to cover the period up to 30 September 2021. This grant is further to the £269 million invested since the scheme (previously known as the Covid Winter Grant Scheme) launched in December 2020. Local authorities have discretion to decide how to allocate this government funding in their areas, recognising that they are best placed to understand local needs.