Free meals scheme scrapped for low-income families
- June 14, 2010
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Keywords:
- free meals scheme
- Not rated
The free meals scheme, due to start in September, would have given free meals to half a million low-income families but was claimed to have been under-estimated by Labour as to how much the extension to the pilot would cost over three years
Pilot schemes are currently running in Durham, Wolverhampton and the London borough of Newham and were due to be extended to five other areas within the United Kingdom.
Education Secretary, Michael Gove, had previously written to Ed Balls arguing that Labour had under-estimated the costs for plan by nearly £200m but has confirmed existing schemes will continue.
The scheme would have provided free meals to households with an income of less than £16,190.
The Mayor of Newham, where free schools meals began last year, said that scrapping such plans by the government was “short-sighted” as the pilot had made such a huge difference to children and their families since the scheme was introduced.
