(Consultation starts 12/11/24, ends 04/02/25)

What is the case for reform?

This Private Members’ Bill (PMB) is about legislating to provide direct support to children and young people entitled to free school meals and their families throughout school holiday periods.

Holiday hunger is a reality in the north of Ireland. Approximately 100, 000 children are eligible for free school meals. However, this entitlement ends when school terms are complete. Consequently, a cliff edge scenario exists for many families who are struggling financially.

The proposed legislation will place a statutory duty on the Department of Education and the Education Authority to provide financial payments in lieu of free school meals during school holidays to those children and young people who are eligible.

The links between educational underachievement and deprivation are well known. The evidence suggests that some children returning to school can often be weeks or months intellectually behind classmates who have access to a more wholesome diet during the school holidays.

In the north, between 1st April 2023 and 31st March 2024, 60, 831 (74%) of the parcels provided by food banks in the Trussell Trust network were for families with children. This represents a record level of need.

Since July 2020, additional ring-fenced funding was provided to enable the Department of Education to pay School Holiday Food Grants (SHFG) on behalf of the Executive, as part of wider efforts to tackle holiday hunger and food poverty.

In April 2023, as a result of budget cuts, this additional funding ended and the food grants stopped. The Trussell Trust reported that it gave out 49% more food parcels to families in July and August 2023, after the grant was axed, than it did in the previous year.

Legislation is needed now to make a long-term commitment so that children who need free school meals, and their families, are supported to ensure they get the nutrition they need to help them fulfill their potential.

Sinn Féin wants to ensure that no child goes hungry.

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* 1. Do you agree that children and young people are more likely to do well in school if their family has greater food security during school holiday periods?

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* 2. Do you agree that free school meal support over school holidays would alleviate some financial pressure experienced by low income families?

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* 3. Do you agree that greater food security would have a positive impact on the physical and mental health of children and young people?

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* 4. Do you agree that legislation should be developed to address holiday hunger by ensuring that children and young people who are eligible for free school meals should have this entitlement, or payment in lieu of this entitlement extended to cover school holiday periods?

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* 5. If you agree that children and young people who are eligible for free school meals should have this support extended throughout school holiday periods, what form should this support take?

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* 6. If you selected ‘‘regular payments equivalent to the cost of free school meals’’, when do you think the payment should be made?

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* 7. How do you think regular payments should be made?

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* 8. Between July 2020 and April 2023, funding was provided to enable the Department of Education to pay School Holiday Food Grants (SHFG), as part of wider efforts to tackle holiday hunger and food poverty. Do you agree that this scheme worked well and helped to address pupil well-being and educational outcomes?

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* 9. The School Holiday Food Grant (SHFG) scheme provided a payment in lieu of free schools
meals at the rate of £2.70 per school day, per child, on a fortnightly basis. This equated to a
fortnightly payment of £27. Do you believe this amount is sufficient in the context of
extending this support to cover school holiday periods?

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* 10. If you do not agree with the proposal as outlined, what alternative would you suggest that would achieve the policy objective or what adjustments could be made which would achieve your support?

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* 11. Please confirm you have read this Privacy Notice to this consultation which explains how your personal data will be used.

https://www.sinnfein.ie/dataprotection

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