By Council to provide free school meals over half term
North Lincolnshire Council have joined hundreds of other businesses and authorities across the country in their commitment to provide free school meals over the October half term.
Despite the policy being defeated in Parliament last week, the campaign led by footballer Marcus Rashford MBE has gained overwhelming support.
Scunthorpe MP Holly Mumby-Croft was one of just five Conservative MPs to vote in favour of the scheme.
She said:
“Yesterday I made the difficult decision to ‘rebel’ and vote for the opposition motion calling on the government to continue providing free school meals support during school holidays, until Easter 2021.
“Given the exceptional circumstances of the pandemic, I believe that we should have put in place a temporary, albeit imperfect solution to run until Easter 2021.”
Councillor Rob Waltham, the leader of North Lincolnshire Council, added:
“Following work with local MPs and the announcement of an additional £2.1million of Government funding for the Council this week, I am proposing that North Lincolnshire Council provides funding for children in receipt of free school meals this half term.
“This is due to the exceptional and challenging circumstances the local area and the country finds itself at the moment due to the Covid-19 pandemic. We will be working with local partners to deliver this support as quickly as possible.
“I am proud of the work that the council team is doing at this difficult time. We are working with residents to help them remain independent, to access work and training and also to keep our communities strong. We are all responsible for preventing the spread of Covid and for protecting our older residents.”
A number of venues in Scunthorpe are also offering to help feed vulnerable children over the half-term, these include The Royal Hotel, the Wortley House Hotel, and NewLife Church.
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