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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Full list of road closures set to be in place for Manchester Day 2024
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Day is back for 2024 this weekend, and the full list of road closures set to be in place has been confirmed.
Now that schools are officially out across Greater Manchester, and the summer holidays are well and truly here, the hugely-popular Manchester Day is making a return once again this Saturday 27 July, and as always, it’s set to be “the day summer officially starts” in the city centre – with a massive celebration of “all things Mancunian” on the cards.
The theme of this year’s annual event is ‘Let The Games Begin’, and it’s inspired by the international summer of sport, just 2024 Olympics kicks off over in Paris.
The day will be packed full of free events and activities to get involved with.
Some city centre roads will be closed on Friday 26 and Saturday 27 July for Manchester Day.
These will include:
🛣️Deansgate 🛣️St Ann Street 🛣️St Mary’s Gate 🛣️Market Street 🛣️King Street
— Manchester City Council (@ManCityCouncil) July 21, 2024
But of course, in order for the all the fun to go ahead as safely as possible, and as tends to be the case for events like these, Manchester City Council says it will need to make some temporary road closures to facilitate it.
The full list of road closures has now been confirmed by the Council, and there’s some major city centre thoroughfares set to be out of action.
Here’s everything you need to know.
Manchester Day is back for 2024 to celebrate the international summer of sport / Credit: Manchester City Council
Manchester Day 2024 – Road Closures
Saturday 27 July
From 6am to 11:59pm, Manchester City Council has confirmed that the following roads will be closed:
Deansgate (Manchester Cathedral to John Dalton Street) – access will be maintained to Marks and Spencer’s car park and Number One Deansgate.
St Ann Street (Deansgate to Cross Street)
St Mary’s Gate (Exchange Street to Deansgate)
St Mary’s Street (Southbridge Street to Deansgate)
Market Street (Exchange Street to Cross Street)
Fennel Street (Corporation Street to Cathedral Street) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cathedral Street (Fennel Street to Exchange Square) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cateaton Street (Exchange Square to Deansgate)
Barton Square (St Ann’s Square to St Ann Street)
King Street (Cross Street to Deansgate) – no access for deliveries.
All accessible bays, bus lanes, and taxi ranks within the closed areas will also be suspended during from 6pm on Friday 26 July to 11:59pm on Saturday 27 July.
The parking suspensions set to be in place are:
Deansgate (Manchester Cathedral to John Dalton Street)
St Ann Street – including the bays outside St Ann’s Church (Deansgate to Cross Street)
St Mary’s Gate (Exchange Street to Deansgate)
St Mary’s Street (Southbridge Street to Deansgate)
Southgate (St Mary’s Street to King Street West)
Market Street (Exchange Street to Cross Street)
Fennel Street (Corporation Street to Cathedral Street) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cathedral Street (Fennel Street to Exchange Square) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cateaton Street (Exchange Square to Deansgate)
Victoria Street (Cathedral Approach to Deansgate)
Todd Street (Corporation Street to Station Approach)
King Street (Spring Gardens to Southgate)
South King Street (Ridgefield to Deansgate)
Barton Square (St Ann’s Square to St Ann Street)
King Street West (Deansgate to St Mary’s Parsonage)
St James’s Square (John Dalton Street to South King Street)
Cross Street (King Street to Corporation Street)
Museum Street (Peter Street to Windmill Street)
Marsden Street (Cheapside to Brown Street)
Manchester Day 2024: Let The Games Begin! will take over the city centre on Saturday 27 July from 12pm-6pm.
Check out everything you need to know ahead of the event here.
‘Complex’ Metrolink repairs to the Rochdale via Oldham line could take weeks to complete
Emily Sergeant
Work currently underway on the Rochdale via Oldham line is expected to take several weeks to complete.
Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has confirmed that land movement affecting the Metrolink network near Derker has now “slowed”, and this means that detailed ground investigations and temporary repair works have been able to get underway.
In order for trams to run again on the crucial line from the city centre to the two major Greater Manchester towns, TfGM says that a small section of track has to be moved back – also known as ‘slewed’ – into its original position.
The overhead line poles also need to be repaired too, the transport operator revealed.
Rochdale line update
Land movement affecting the Metrolink network near Derker has slowed, enabling detailed ground investigations and temporary repair works to get underway.
To get trams running again, a small section of track has to be moved back into its original position… pic.twitter.com/byERjitdi1
Unfortunately though, due to the “complex” nature of these works, and despite the fact that TfGM says it’s actively looking to “accelerate” the repairs, the project is expected to take up to five weeks to complete in full.
On top of this, the detailed ground investigations will also establish whether any further work to strengthen foundations beneath the track will be needed at a later date.
TfGM has apologised for the inconvenience caused to passengers.
‘Complex’ Metrolink repairs to the Rochdale via Oldham line could take weeks to complete / Credit: TfGM
Speaking on the scale of works currently underway, and how long he expects them to continue for, Pete Sommers, who is TfGM’s Network Director for Metrolink, said: “I’m sorry for the impact this is having, and will continue to have, on people’s journeys.
“We are working to get trams running through the area again, but this remains a complex and challenging issue and it could still be a few weeks before this happens.
“We will of course keep passengers updated, and I’d encourage people to check our social media channels and website for the latest information and advice.”