Rotherham MP: How does the prime minister justify taking food from the mouths of my poorest children?

The money – worth £4.9 million to Rotherham this year – has been used by the council to cover out-of-term food vouchers for the 12,000 children on free school meals.

RMBC also spends some of the cash on council tax support for low income families, and energy crisis grants provided to more than 2,000 residents.

Speaking during Prime Minister’s Questions on December 6, Rotherham MP Ms Champion said: “The government is set to close the Household Support Fund in March, cutting off crucial free meals for 12,000 of Rotherham’s children in the lowest income families.

“With the government’s cost of living crisis in full swing and energy prices set to increase yet again, how does the prime minister justify taking food from the mouths of my poorest children?”

PM Rishi Sunak responded: “What we are doing is ensuring that no child should grow up in poverty and that’s why not only this year we have provided considerable cost-of-living support worth over £3,000 to a typical household, more support this winter for pensioners, a record increase in the National Living Wage and a full indexation and uplifting of welfare for the next financial year.

“But when it comes to children and food, not only do we fund the free school meals for almost two million children, we have also introduced the holiday activity and food programme

which provides not just food but enriching activities to deprived children up and down the entire country, including in her local authority.”