Prime Minister Boris Johnson has agreed that the £30 free school meal hampers received by some parents across the country are “unacceptable”.
He made the comments in a call to Manchester United star Marcus Rashford today.
Taking to Twitter to confirm he had received a call to personally speak with the Prime Minister this morning, Marcus Rashford said: “Just had a good conversation with the Prime Minister.
“He has assured me that he is committed to correcting the issue with the food hampers and that a full review of the supply chain is taking place.
“He agrees that images of hampers being shared on Twitter are unacceptable.”
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Just had a good conversation with the Prime Minister. He has assured me that he is committed to correcting the issue with the food hampers and that a full review of the supply chain is taking place. He agrees that images of hampers being shared on Twitter are unacceptable.
The Prime Minister’s call and comments come after the Wythenshawe-born footballer branded the free school meal packages being sent to some children learning from home as “not good enough”, with the parcels – which have been sent to families who would normally qualify for free school meals and are now learning remotely during the national lockdown – having been criticised online by parents.
Several posts documenting the food provisions have garnered widespread attention on Twitter this week.
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One tweet at the forefront of the conversation showed a photo comprising of just a loaf of bread, some cheese, a tin of beans, two carrots, two bananas, three apples, two potatoes, a bag of pasta, three Frubes, two Soreen bars and a tomato.
It was initially suggested that the original image was meant to be £30 worth of food intended to last 10 days, with the mum who shared it claiming she could have bought it for £5 from ASDA, but following an investigation by the Department of Education – who confirmed yesterday that they are “looking into this” – catering firm Chartwells UK said the photo shows five days of school lunches at a value of £10.50.
This is still short of what they should have been providing as per government requirement.
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The shortfall and online outcry prompted Rashford to take further action, with the footballer yesterday confirming on Twitter that he spoke to Chartwells UK ahead of the the company’s meeting with the Department of Education.
In his full Twitter thread – which detailed what the government is required to provide – Rashford made sure to stress to his Twitter followers that Chartwells UK were not the only free school meals provider contracted by the government, but added that: “One thing that is clear is that there was very little communication with the suppliers that a national lockdown was coming.
“We MUST do better. Children shouldn’t be going hungry on the basis that we aren’t communicating or being transparent with plans – that is unacceptable.
“Something is going wrong and we need to fix it, quickly.”
Wanted to share key points from a conversation with @Chartwells_UK this morning. There is a meeting scheduled between Chartwells and @educationgovuk today. (1)
I have a game today so have to log off but I wanted to update you on the conversation and I look forward to hearing the outcome of the DfE meeting today.@Chartwells_UK@educationgovuk
Something is going wrong and we need to fix it, quickly! (8)
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has also said that government will “name and shame” companies providing poor quality food parcels after the several viral posts emerged.
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He told a committee of MPs that he was “absolutely disgusted” by images of the inadequate offerings, adding: “As a dad myself, I thought “how could a family in receipt of that really be expected to deliver five nutritious meals as is required?” It’s just not acceptable.”
With Prime Minister Boris Johnson today agreeing with Marcus Rashford that “images of hampers being shared on Twitter are unacceptable”, it is hoped that necessary change will be brought about in due course.
This is a BREAKING NEWS story – More to follow.
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Heartbreaking new figures show 35% of all children in the North West are living in poverty
Emily Sergeant
35% of all children in the North West are currently living in poverty, some heartbreaking new figures have revealed.
Some new research carried out to understand regional levels of child poverty, conducted by Loughborough University for the End Child Poverty Coalition, has sadly revealed over a third (35%) of all children in the North West are living in what is called ‘relative poverty’, after the cost of housing is considered – which is higher than the national average standing at 31%.
Over in the Lancashire authority of Pendle, this figure reaches 45%, making it the second highest rate of all local authorities in the country.
In Greater Manchester, both Oldham and Manchester join Pendle in the list of the 10 council areas with the highest child poverty rates in the UK, as well as Blackburn with Darwen, and Hyndburn, and to make matters worse, the North West features on the list more times than any other region nationwide.
Rusholme was identified as the Manchester area with the highest percentage rating – with more than half (51.3%) of all children there living in poverty.
88% of constituencies across the North West have a quarter of children in poverty.
This could lead to things like families being forced to use food banks, children going without warm clothes in winter, or living in cold or unsafe housing.
As a result of these shocking statistics being revealed, the End Child Poverty Coalition – which represents more than 135 organisations across the UK – is calling on the Government to meet its manifesto commitment to address these high levels of child poverty, not just in the North West but also across the rest of country.
“These figures should demonstrate to Government just how important it is to quickly address this so to prevent another generation of children from growing up in low-income families,” commented Rachel Walters, who is the End Child Poverty Coalition Manager.
“The Government’s strategy to tackle child poverty must invest in children in areas with higher levels of poverty, like the North West.”
Graham Whitham, who is a End Child Poverty Coalition spokesperson and the Chief Executive of Resolve Poverty, added: “No child should go without the things they need to be healthy and happy.
“The Government’s forthcoming national Child Poverty Strategy must demonstrate a clear ambition to ending child poverty in this country, backed by specific targets and immediate investment in social security.”
Featured Image – RawPixel
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Manchester’s ‘busiest’ road to close for annual safety checks this weekend
Emily Sergeant
Manchester’s ‘busiest’ road is set to close this weekend while annual safety checks are carried out, it has been confirmed.
As Manchester City Council looks to maintain and improve what is, by far, one of Manchester’s busiest and most-used roads, given the fact it is the main thoroughfare in and out of the city centre, it has been confirmed that Mancunian Way is set to close overnight this weekend for its annual inspection.
Carried out every year, the Council explains that these closures ensure that ‘vital’ safety inspections can be conducted to allow the major road to continue operating as normal.
The overnight closure will take place from 7-8 June.
From 5am on Saturday (7 June), Mancunian Way will be closed in both directions along its entire length, including all slip roads, between the Chester Road roundabout and Fairfield Street, and this will last until 7pm on Sunday (8 June), after which the road will be open to traffic again as normal.
In the meantime while the closures are underway, the Council assures that a signed diversion route will be in place via the north and eastern ring road sections – Trinity Way and Great Ancoats Street – and a local diversion route will be signed via Bridgewater Street, Whitworth Street West, Whitworth Street, and Fairfield Street.
Manchester’s ‘busiest’ road Mancunian Way is closing for annual safety checks this weekend / Credit: Pixabay
During this period there will also be a lane closure east/westbound at the Deansgate Interchange between 6:30-9:30am, and the inbound lane of Princess Road (heading towards Manchester) between 6:30am and 11:15am.
As is to be expected with these kinds of tasks, Councillors say they are preparing for a ‘level of disruption’ but are intending to keep it to a minimum.
“The annual inspection of the Mancunian Way is a vital job which ensures that the tens of thousands of daily users of this road can go about their journey in safety,” explained Councillor Tracey Rawlins, who is the Executive Member for Clean Air, Environment, and Transport.
“We do expect a level of disruption throughout this process so wherever possible we’d advise people to travel via public transport, or plan an alternate route ahead to avoid the work locations.
Emily Sergeant -
13th January 2021 
