Liverpool Council’s cabinet has approved a plan to purchase free school meal vouchers for thousands of students across the city.
The council had already announced that it would supply the vouchers earlier this month, with 83 schools across the city having requested support.
They will be backdated to the start of term, January 4, and will extend up until the February half term. Liverpool Council had already bought vouchers for the half term holiday.
The government announced earlier this month that vouchers would be offered nationally instead of parcels after days of criticism following pictures of the contents of food packages around the country being posted online.
The parcels, which were delivered by private companies, were criticised for their size and for the quality of the food being delivered to families who would normally rely on free school meals.
Liverpool Council did not use food hamper deliveries for children on free school meals, instead providing vouchers to families that are redeemable at four supermarket chains.
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Speaking at cabinet this morning, cabinet member for education said the fact that vouchers had already been purchased for the half term meant they had been delivered to families more quickly.
She said: “We had already bought the half term vouchers so we have used those for the first tranche while we are waiting for the termly ones to come from government
“On the whole I think we’ve managed the process very efficiently and I’d like to thank the officers for thinking outside the box and getting that process moving so fast.”
The vouchers are being distributed to families through individual schools.
The provision of free school meals, or vouchers for them, has reemerged multiple times as an issue throughout the pandemic.
A campaign for an overhaul of the system to help tackle child poverty during the pandemic, led by Manchester United star Marcus Rashford, has gained huge support among the public and forced the government to change position on the issue multiple times.
A national voucher system is now in place across the UK, with a national portal for schools opening up earlier this week.
