Summary
Somerset Council in the UK has stopped providing school holiday food vouchers to low-income families and will introduce a new crisis fund instead. Nearly 40% of students at some schools in Somerset are affected, and the council plans to allocate £1 million annually for emergency support like food. The new fund aims to help families with different types of support, not just food vouchers.
Key Facts
- Somerset families will no longer receive automatic food vouchers during school holidays.
- A new crisis fund will replace the voucher scheme, focusing on helping families with various needs.
- Somerset Council spent £2.1 million on the voucher scheme last year but will now allocate £1 million annually for emergency support.
- Nearly 40% of students at a school in Yeovil rely on the vouchers for meals.
- As of January 2025, 15,285 children in Somerset were eligible for free school meals.
- The council's new fund will be rolled out for the Easter holidays and financed by a £21 million government grant over three years.
- The crisis fund will focus on preventive measures to stop families from facing severe hardship.
- Local authorities will decide how to best use the crisis fund to meet their area's needs.
