Boris Johnson finds £170m for disadvantaged families after pressure from Marcus Rashford’s school meals campaign

England football star Marcus Rashford has said he is “overwhelmed with pride” after his campaign against child poverty delivered a government U-turn worth £170m in support for disadvantaged families during the coming winter of coronavirus restrictions.

Prime minister Boris Johnson also confirmed the £220m extension of a holiday activity programme, including meals for participants, to cover the whole of England during the Easter, summer and Christmas holidays in 2021.

The scheme was welcomed as a “lifeline for vulnerable families” by children’s charity Barnados.

But Labour said it came too late to help children who went hungry during the October half-term.

The move marks the second time the government has switched policy in response to the Manchester United striker’s inspirational campaign with food charity FareShare, after Mr Johnson’s £120m U-turn earlier this year to extend free school meal vouchers over the summer holidays.

The prime minister spoke with Rashford by phone after he played in United’s 3-1 Premier League victory over Everton on Saturday to inform him of the announcement.

Welcoming the move, Rashford said: “There is still so much more to do, and my immediate concern is the approximate 1.7 million children who miss out on free school meals, holiday provision and Healthy Start vouchers because their family income isn’t quite low enough, but the intent the Government have shown today is nothing but positive and they should be recognised for that.

“The steps made today will improve the lives of near 1.7 million children in the UK over the next 12 months, and that can only be celebrated.”

The 23-year-old, who forced child poverty to the top of the political agenda after writing poignantly of his own experience of hunger as a boy, said he was “so proud” of the businesses, charity workers, volunteers, teachers, social workers, carers and key workers who responded to his call for action.

The PM came under intense pressure to act after scores of councils, restaurants and football clubs come forward with pledges to supply food to hard-pressed families during the October holidays in response to the Conservatives voting down a Commons motion to provide state funding. Tory MPs, mayors and councillors, as well as peers and bishops, were among those accusing Mr Johnson of letting children down.

“Seeing the role everyone has played in supporting our most vulnerable children has been the greatest moment of my life. I have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of empathy and understanding,” said Rashford.

“I am fully committed to this cause, and I will fight for the rest of my life for it, because in my mind, no child should ever go hungry in the United Kingdom. I don’t want any child to go through what I went through, and any parent to experience what my mother experienced.

“I now call on the overnment to collaborate with the Child Food Poverty Taskforce, something the prime minister and I discussed on the phone last night, to guarantee that no child does.”

The new funding in the Covid Winter Grant Scheme will go to councils in England to fund support for the most vulnerable households, with at least 80 per cent of the money earmarked to fund food and bills.

Grants will be paid out from the start of December to the end of March, while devolved administrations have already received equivalent sums through an upfront funding guarantee, said a government source.

The Department for Work and Pensions said councils were better placed to identify those needing support and provide help during holiday periods than schools, which provide free lunch to disadvantaged children in term-time.

The £170m scheme equates to around two months’ worth of free school meals, which cost around £20m a week to provide.

The extension of the Holiday Activities and Food programme follows a pilot scheme which supported around 50,000 children in 17 local authority areas this summer.

Meanwhile, Healthy Start payments to help low-income pregnant women and mothers of children aged under four buy fresh fruit and vegetables are to be increased from £3.10 to £4.25 a week from April.

The government has also pledged additional funding of £16m for food distribution charities.

Work and pensions secretary Therese Coffey said:  “We want to make sure vulnerable people feel cared for throughout this difficult time and, above all, no one should go hungry or be unable to pay their bills this winter.

“We know this has been a challenging time for many and we have consistently supported the lowest-paid families, protecting 9 million jobs with furlough and boosting welfare support by £9.3bn.

“This package builds on that support and by extending our successful Holiday Activities and Food programme as well as funding a £170 million Covid Winter Grant Scheme we are making sure families get the help they need.”

FareShare chief executive Lindsay Boswell said: “We welcome the government’s announcement of more support through the continuing Covid-19 pandemic for vulnerable children and families in the UK.  

"Making sure children don’t go hungry during the holidays or when schools are closed, is something FareShare and our ambassador Marcus Rashford have been campaigning on for some time. So the extra funding for local authorities is welcome news.

"But the reality is that many families and individuals will inevitably fall through cracks in the system. And FareShare’s work to provide two million meals for vulnerable people each week will go on.”  

Barnardo's chief executive Javed Khan said: “This new scheme is a lifeline for vulnerable families who are struggling to feed their families and heat their homes this winter. It will also help prevent ‘holiday hunger’ throughout 2021.

“Barnardo’s and many other children’s charities have been asking the government to do more for those we support and this package is a welcome step forward.”

And Labour’s shadow education secretary Kate Green said: “It is right that the government have finally listened to Labour and other campaigners and offered more support to families struggling to make ends meet, but this should have been announced weeks ago to help the children at risk of going hungry over half term.

“The government’s incompetence and intransigence created needless and avoidable hardship for families across the country.

“This announcement is a necessary starting point, but ministers must ensure no child goes hungry, and bring forward a long-term strategy to tackle child poverty that was rising under this government even before the pandemic.”