Concerns that working parents are missing out on school holiday support

The Holiday, Activities and Food Programme is once again running this month, which provides healthy meals as well as things to do for youngsters during the school break. Since the scheme launched last summer more than 70,000 free places have been made available to Staffordshire families.

Children eligible for the scheme include those who receive benefits-related free school meals, those who are at risk of financial exclusion or youngsters in county council care. But there are worries that families with working parents on low incomes are missing out as food and energy bills rise.

Community leaders from Stafford and Stone highlighted the challenges faced by families this summer at the latest full county council council meeting.

Councillor Gillian Pardesi asked: “Is my understanding correct that partly thanks to the cost of living crisis the number of children who need this type of programme is increasing, but the funding itself has not? In some areas I understand that funding is decreasing – is the funding keeping up with the needs?”

Councillor Jill Hood said: “This activity that we’re putting forward through the county council I’ve promoted myself. It’s an excellent scheme and it will benefit a lot of children throughout Staffordshire.

“My deep concern is for those parents who don’t quite fit the criteria – they’re earning just that little bit too much to be on benefits. The cost of living is really hitting these parents."

Councillor Hood added: “I want to tell you about a resident of mine who chooses to work, who would be better off on benefits. She works full time and she has a seven-year-old son.

“Throughout school time it’s excellent because he gets free school meals. She’s struggling to feed her child.

“What concerns me most is throughout the six weeks that child has got used to his mother working at home, on her laptop all day, and quite often very late into the night because it’s required of her. That child has to play quietly – he does have a garden but because he can’t go out he has to play on his own.

“She’s struggling to feed him, but what’s worrying is how much fresh air is that child going to have during the six-week holiday? How many activities will he be able to do?

“She’s not on her own – throughout Staffordshire there are many parents like this. This scheme is not for those children and I think it is a crying shame."

She added: “I know it’s money and we can’t accommodate every child on these play schemes, but they’re amazing. I go to a couple in my division and to see the children all playing together, learning to socialise again after we’ve been shut down for almost two years, is just amazing.

“But please bear in mind for a parent to put their child onto some of these schemes it’s an average of £25 a day. These parents cannot afford to send their children to these schemes.”

Councillor Mark Sutton, cabinet member for children and young people, responded that the Holiday Activities and Food programme was open to all children aged up to 16 who are entitled to free school meals. He added: “The Holiday Activities and Food Programme has now run since summer last year and I have seen first-hand how it improves the lives of young people.

“If there is an issue with it – and it is difficult to do anything about – it is the amount of families who sign up for it, agree to come and then do not turn up. It tends to coincide with nice sunny days.

“This is the the fourth or fifth tranche of funding we have received since October 2020, when the local authority decided we would use it to fund free meal vouchers. We were one of the first authorities to say we were going to do that and we have continued to do that under that scheme.

“I take up the point about families that don’t quite meet the criteria for this scheme but still have challenges. I will and I have spoken to officers about that, how we can develop the scheme in future.

“We have the funding for three years, but we are governed by strict guidelines that are set and it is around children entitled to free school meals. There might be other things that we can look at or do but I can’t make any promises.

“What I would say is that families of children under five do have the opportunity of 15 and 30 hours’ free childcare if they work – I appreciate that doesn’t work if the children are now of school age. There are challenges out there, but we have been able to offer 70,000 places across the county and it’s ever-expanding.”