Millions of children could go hungry during summer holidays, claim Labour
1 min read
Millions of school pupils could go hungry over the summer holidays, Labour has claimed.
The party has accused the Government of having no plans in place to help the 1.1 million children who claim free school meals.
In addition, Labour pointed to official figures which showed that nearly four million young people across England are living in poverty and their parents may not be able to afford food.
An answer to a written parliamentary question by Shadow Education Secretary Angela Rayner said the Department of Education "has made no assessment of the number of children who are at risk of experiencing hunger during school summer holidays in 2017".
Ms Rayner said: "It is a national disgrace that millions of children across the country are at risk of going hungry this summer.
"The Government has admitted it has no plans to assist children who are facing hunger during the school holidays. The Conservatives are failing in their duty of care to children in poverty, whose numbers are increasing to Dickensian levels under Tory austerity.
"With the Institute for Fiscal Studies forecasting that child poverty will rise to 5 million by 2022, Labour is demanding that the Government brings forward a new strategy to tackle child poverty."
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