East Sussex County Council (ESCC) has defended its decision to stop providing school holiday food vouchers, saying the change follows a withdrawal of the previous funding stream and the introduction of a central government fund intended for targeted support.
Council cites funding shift to new central scheme
The authority, now led by Reform UK councillors, says the national Household Support Fund that helped pay for universal holiday vouchers ended in March. It points to a newly announced £1 billion Crisis and Resilience Fund, which it says is aimed at providing targeted help to households in immediate financial hardship and on measures to build longer-term resilience.
ESCC leader Andy Woolley rejected claims the council had chosen to "cut funding" for vulnerable families or was "making the conscious decision to let children go hungry".
"The new fund is intended to provide support to households experiencing immediate financial hardship and to help build longer-term financial resilience, rather than providing universal holiday food vouchers to all families eligible for free school meals."
MP says change was political and poorly communicated
Hastings MP Helena Dollimore described the move as a "political decision" and urged the council to reinstate the vouchers. She said the Crisis and Resilience Fund's stated purpose includes supporting families in crisis to ensure that the poorest children do not go hungry during school holidays.
"ESCC need to urgently step up [and] reinstate these school holiday meal vouchers as they've been funded to do by the Labour government and make sure that children in East Sussex are not going hungry over the summer."
Dollimore also criticised the timing and clarity of communications, saying families only discovered in the final week of term that vouchers would not be supplied for the holidays, which she called "totally unacceptable" and a risk to hundreds of children in her constituency.
Council says schools were informed earlier
ESCC responded that schools were told in both April and July that the voucher scheme would not continue into the summer holiday. The council emphasised it continued to provide vouchers during Easter and the May half-term despite the earlier funding ending in March.
- Funding change: Household Support Fund ended in March; Crisis and Resilience Fund introduced.
- Council position: New fund intended for targeted help, not universal vouchers.
- MP concern: Local MP says move risks children going hungry and criticises communication.
| Actor | Position |
|---|---|
| ESCC | Stopping universal holiday vouchers; using new targeted fund |
| Helena Dollimore, MP | Calls for reinstatement; says families were inadequately informed |
| Department for Work and Pensions | Says local councils can use the Crisis and Resilience Fund for free school meals if needed |
A Department for Work and Pensions spokesperson said local authorities may allocate money from the Crisis and Resilience Fund to provide free school meals where they judge that is the appropriate use of the funding.
The dispute highlights a wider question for councils across England about how to use central grants designed for crisis support, and the balance between universal provision and targeted assistance for those most in need. For families worried about holiday food provision, the immediate practical step is to contact their child’s school or the county council to check what support is available locally under the new arrangements.
