Group hits out at Conservatives for failing to ensure Banbury area children get a daily 'substantial hot meal' during holidays

The Progressive Oxfordshire group of five councillors said giving children 'snacks in a car park and a food bag to take home' was not enough.

In an open letter to Cllr Barry Wood, leader of Cherwell District Council, the councillors said: "We still live in a society where over a million children go to bed hungry every night. This has a knock-on effect on parents and carers with many of them going hungry themselves so the children can eat.

"We were saddened to see that the government recently voted down a proposal to provide free school meals to children throughout the half term holidays.

"When we wrote to you and the Chief Executive asking what steps Cherwell had taken in this regard, the response was somewhat underwhelming. You reported that children were being offered snacks in a car park and that some were being given food bags to take home to prepare meals.

"Whilst both of these initiatives are no doubt well intentioned and helpful in some ways, we feel they do not adequately address the problem of ensuring all children have at least one substantial hot meal a day.

"A food bag may not be helpful to families struggling to pay for electricity or gas to heat or prepare food, especially those in temporary accommodation, those who have lost their jobs or others who may be on reduced salaries as a result of the pandemic."

The group said the solution lay in food vouchers for vulnerable families which they claimed would address the problem that many families do not know what support is available.

"This is particularly acute with the increase in school children being told to isolate from school after being exposed to the virus," they said.

The group has asked that any remaining funding from the government's Covid-19 grant to the council could be directed towards this problem and that some of the council's reserves could also be used.

"We ask that Cherwell take a stand like other councils and demand aid for the most vulnerable students during the holidays and when the children are forced by government guidance to stay away from their free school meal," they said.

"We request you write to the government in the strongest terms, expressing the council's frustration at not being able to do more and asking for greater financial support to deal with this issue now and in the future as the second wave of COVID makes the problem much worse."

The letter was signed by councillors Katherine Tyson (Lib Dem), John Broad and Nick Cotter (Independent) and Ian Middleton (Green Party).

Cllr Barry Wood declined to comment on the letter. However last week the council said it had distributed £116,326 in government grants. Details of the funding distribution to local groups helping those in food hardship are in this Banbury Guardian story.

Those wishing to apply for grant aid can find out how to do so here.