Chancellor Rishi Sunak has appeared to reject calls by footballer Marcus Rashford to extend free school meals over the Christmas period.
A consistent campaigner for free school meals in the UK, Mr Rashford most recently called on the government to extend the provision for children in a letter to The Sunday Times on Sunday, 24 October
Calling for levelling-up to “begin with guaranteeing that every child in Britain can eat well — at least once a day”, he came together with food industry leaders from a number of organisations including Fareshare, Deliveroo, Sainsbury’s, Kellogg’s, Asda, Nestle and Iceland to ask the government to do more.
The letter went on to lay out the costs of extending free school meals and Healthy Start for more children over the next three years: 1% of the education budget and 4% of annual spending on obesity.
The signatories also added that failure to extend to provision would “deepen and extend the scarring caused by the pandemic on our youngest citizens and ultimately our economy.”
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Speaking to BBC One‘s ‘The Andrew Marr Show’ about the requests in the letter, Mr Sunak said that it was “right” the provision of free school meals should come to an end.
Will the government extend free school meals through the Christmas break, as Marcus Rashford has called for?
The Chancellor told the show that as other additional support, such as furlough and the £20 weekly Universal Credit uplift, had finished it was “right” the government had “transitioned to a more normal way of doing things.”
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He said: “So we put in place some measures to help families during coronavirus, that was the right thing to do, and in common with the other things that have now come to an end, whether that was furlough or other things that’s right that we’ve transitioned to a more normal way of doing things.
“But we have replaced… but we have actually already acted, is what I’d say to Marcus and everyone else.
“We’ve put in place something called the Holiday Activities programme, which provides not just meals but also activities for children during holiday periods for those families that need extra help.”
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Marcus Rashford and other campaigners continue to push for free school meals in England ahead of the Chancellor’s Autumn budget statement on Wednesday, 27 October.
They have already been extended in Northern Ireland and Scotland.
Featured Image – BBC One / The Andrew Marr Show
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Public urged to call the police if they see this wanted man
Daisy Jackson
Cheshire Police are appealing for the public’s help in tracing a wanted man with links to Macclesfield and Alsager.
Joshua Wyatt, 34, is wanted on recall to prison, and officers are urging anyone who has seen him or knows of his whereabouts to come forward.
Wyatt is described as being 183cm (6ft) tall and of medium build, with a bald head and blue eyes.
Police believe he has links to both Macclesfield and Alsager.
Anyone who sees Wyatt or has information about where he may be is asked to contact Cheshire Police on 101 or report information via the force’s website.
Information should be provided quoting reference number 26000809013.
Huge shuttle bus effort laid on to get Manchester United fans to Old Trafford amid tram disruption
Daisy Jackson
Transport for Greater Manchester has announced a shuttle bus scheme to help Manchester United fans get to Old Trafford this week, amid major tram disruption.
Fans won’t be able to use trams to get to the ground as usual, due to huge improvement works which are in place until Monday 2 November.
There’ll be no trams at all on the Altrincham, Trafford Park, and Eccles lines, with Airport and East Didsbury trams only going as far as Firswood.
That means that fans heading to Manchester United’s home game against Bournemouth would have been a little stuck without this newly-announced shuttle bus service.
Frequent dedicated shuttle buses will run running Piccadilly Gardens, Altrincham Interchange and the Trafford Centre, taking fans directly to Old Trafford before the game.
Frequencies range from five to 20 minutes depending on the route and time, with details available online. Return services will be in place after the final whistle.
TfGM staff will be at key stops and interchanges throughout the day to help fans get to the match and provide travel advice.
Huge shuttle bus effort laid on to get Manchester United fans to Old Trafford amid tram disruption. Credit: TfGM
Ian Davies, TfGM’s Network Director for Metrolink, said: “There is no good time to disrupt passengers to carry out these works, and this is the first time in over a decade that trams won’t serve Old Trafford on a match day, but these works are essential and will enable us to provide a better service in future. I am very sorry to fans who face disruption.
“We’ve put a range of alternative travel options in place, including dedicated shuttle buses, bolstered Bee Network bus services, rail options and ticket acceptance arrangements will help fans get to and from the game.
“Journey options will be different from usual, so we would encourage supporters to plan ahead, check their route and our website before they travel and leave plenty of time to get to and from the stadium.”
TfGM is advising supporters to leave around an hour earlier to help make sure they arrive in time for kick-off.
Georgina Pellant -
25th October 2021 
