Giving children from low-income households access to similar opportunities to their peers during school holidays improves children’s health and wellbeing, promotes healthy eating, boosts school attendance, and improves inclusivity for children with special educational needs and disabilities.
So say councils in feedback to the LGA on the Holiday and Activities Food (HAF) programme, which funds local authorities to deliver free healthy meals and enriching holiday activities for primary school-aged children from low-income families.
The Department for Education has invested £600 million to extend HAF for a further three years, but demand for provision is high and some eligible children are missing out, according to the LGA’s report.
The most vulnerable families are often the least likely to attend programme services because of access barriers including transport challenges, language, digital exclusion, lack of awareness and stigma. Data-sharing limitations between local authorities, schools and central government are also reported to restrict the ability of councils to identify all eligible families in their area.
Cllr Dr Wendy Taylor MBE, Chair of the LGA’s Health and Wellbeing Committee, said: “Extending the HAF funding is an important part of efforts to combat child poverty. But as we enter another three years of the programme, it is vital that we tackle the barriers to access and efficiency.
“Councils are well placed to explore solutions that work for their residents. Now is the time to ensure the programme works for every eligible family.”