Rashford thrilled with the UK’s government’s U-turn on free school meals

England international Marcus Rashford has shown his delight at the government’s U-turn on the decision to provide free meals to disadvantaged children during the Christmas holidays.

The Manchester United forward was phoned by UK’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Saturday to inform him of the decision to lay on £170m of extra funding for the measure.

The 23-year-old got the call after his side’s 3-1 Premier League win against Everton at Goodison Park on Saturday afternoon.

Rashford said he was “so proud” of those who had joined and rallied support for his campaign and that he was “overwhelmed by the outpouring of empathy and understanding“, promising his supporters to “fight for the rest of my life” to end child hunger in the UK.

In a statement, Rashford says: “Following the game today, I had a good conversation with the Prime Minister to better understand the proposed plan, and I very much welcome the steps that have been taken to combat child food poverty in the UK.

“There is still so much more to do, and my immediate concern is the approximate 1.7 million children who miss out on free school meals, holiday provision and Healthy Start vouchers because their family income isn’t quite low enough, but the intent the Government have shown today is nothing but positive and they should be recognised for that.

“The steps made today will improve the lives of near 1.7 million children in the UK over the next 12 months, and that can only be celebrated.

The funds available will cater for the Covid Winter Grant Scheme in order to support families over the season and also the Holiday Activities and Food programme will be extended to cover the Easter, summer and Christmas breaks in 2021, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) announced.

As part of the package, Healthy Start payments, which help expectant mothers and those with young children on low incomes and in receipt of benefits to buy fresh fruit and vegetables, are set to rise from £3.10 to £4.25 a week from April 2021.

Therese Coffey, Work and Pensions Secretary says: “We want to make sure vulnerable people feel cared for throughout this difficult time and, above all, no one should go hungry or be unable to pay their bills this winter.”

The U-turn comes after the government last month whipped Conservative MPs to vote against a Labour motion in the House of Commons calling for the extension of free school meal provision following Rashford’s campaign.

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