Ending of ‘Holiday Hunger’ payments slammed

There has been strong political and student consensus regarding the imperative of restoring ‘Holiday Hunger’ payments for families across the North of Ireland.

In a statement issued on Thursday (March 30), the Department of Education announced with “great reluctance” funding for the ‘Holiday Hunger’ scheme would end payments would stop  from April. 

The Holiday Food grant scheme was introduced to assist parents of children who receive free school meals with £27 a fortnight over school holidays, to ameliorate the current cost of living crisis. 

The Secondary Students’ Union of Northern Ireland (SSUNI), which represents over 42,000 secondary students, called for a review and immediate reinstatement of the Scheme, the closure of which, it said, had left “thousands of young people without the necessary support for the coming Easter holidays”.

The Union has hit out at the “sudden nature” of these cuts and the fact that this has happened at the height of a cost of living crisis. 

The Union has also stated that the nature of these changes would ensure many families would “go through undue stress and worry” as well as guaranteeing that “many children and young people will go hungry this Easter break and the school breaks to follow”.

SSUNI President Eilidh O’ Connor said: “We are very disheartened to hear of the cuts to the ‘Holiday Hunger’ payments scheme. 

“Our students and families deserve better! At a time when people are finding it increasingly difficult, families need to be supported, not neglected.

“These cuts will undoubtedly create anxiety and pile on unnecessary pressure on many students preparing to take GCSE and A’ level examinations in the summer.

“Once again young people are victims of the political vacuum here in Northern Ireland. We would strongly advocate that this scheme is reinstated immediately.”

KJ McCoy the Union’s Equality Officer said: “Holiday food insecurity affects many of our country’s most vulnerable children. The school food holiday grant is a vital aid to helping low income families adequately provide for their children and without it many students will suffer.

“This has happened during a time of financial crisis and the short notice of these cuts will ensure that many families will go through unnecessary additional financial strain.”

“During the cost of living crisis many schools within Northern Ireland have taken the decision to provide free breakfasts and meals for their pupils to ensure that they are starting the school day on a full stomach. 

“These cuts to education will put school leaders under massive amounts of pressure, and completely undermine the efforts of schools during the times of a financial crisis.

Derry City and Strabane District councillor, Emmet Doyle (Aontú) said: "The ‘Holiday Food’ grant scheme was introduced to assist parents of children who receive free school meals.

"Since the fall of Stormont there has been no budget in place beyond this month to continue the payments despite the worsening situation for household budgets and MLAs receiving pay whilst not being fully at work. 

"The Department of Education, and if needs be the Secretary of State, must act urgently to give parents certainty that this support will be in place for the Easter break and beyond.

"I had a motion on the issue unanimously passed on Thursday (30 April) seeking an assurance and demanding the scheme be saved.  People are struggling now as much as they were in October of last year when the then Minister continued the scheme.

"The deadlock at Stormont has caused enough financial hardship as it is, and those remaining in charge should now be working to alleviate this pressure for parents and communities.

"I am calling on all those in Council to come together with me and save this scheme that benefits over 8,000 local children in our district immediately."

Foyle MLA Pádraig Delargy (Sinn Féin) has called on the Department for Education to ensure families receive the vital holiday payments over the Easter school holidays. 

He said: “Uncertainty over whether families will be paid holiday hunger payments over the Easter school holidays is deeply concerning. 

“These payments are a lifeline for families that depend on free school meals and help ensure that children get a hot meal during school holidays. 

“Many families are already struggling to put food on the table as living costs continue to rise, and stripping this payment away will only add to the hardship they face. 

“The Department of Education must ensure that funding for this vital support is protected and is available to families over Easter. 

“We need an Executive formed now and parties working together around the table to tackle holiday hunger, support families and legislate to end the constant cliff-edge over these payments.”

Trade union campaigner Damien Doherty described the decision to end the payments as “disgraceful”. 

Mr Doherty, who is standing for People Before Profit in the upcoming Local Government Elections added: “These payments were made to parents over school holidays, to make up for the lack of free school meals while the schools were closed.

"The Department says it can't fund the payments anymore. Leaving the announcement to the last minute - mere days before the Easter break - will cause serious stress for parents. During a cost of living crisis, it is indefensible.

"The Tories could have stepped in multiple times, but they don't care about young people going hungry. Neither do the DUP, who voted against free school meals in Westminster not too long ago.

"Like so many of our public services, education has been systemically underfunded by successive Stormont administrations. The money is always there to chase a corporate agenda. But when it comes to teachers' pay, or now for supporting deprived young people, the pockets are empty.

"We need a mass protest at the doors of the Department of Education, with parents, young people, teachers all demanding with one voice: Don't Cut Holiday Hunger Payments.”

Catherine McDaid who is standing for the SDLP in May’s Local Government Elections slammed the Department of Education’s decision to end ‘Holiday Hunger’ payments. 

She added: “School leaders were only given a single day’s notice of the Department’s intention to end important education support programmes across Northern Ireland.

“Principals were informed on Thursday morning that funding for the Healthy Happy Minds Pilot and the Engage programme would cease from March 31 and the School Holiday Food Grants would cease from Friday ahead of the Easter break.

“The decision to scrap these schemes is absolutely outrageous. To do so with a single day’s notice to principals, staff and the parents that rely on them is totally unforgivable.

“I understand the challenging financial position that the Department of Education is in but what about the financial situation facing thousands of families?”

Ms McDaid said holiday hunger payments right before the Easter break would be devastating for low income families across the North. 

She added: “Ending Healthy Happy Minds and the Engage programme will leave kids that need a bit more support in a terrible situation, not to mention the staff that rely on this funding.

“There are serious questions about the way the Department has approached this issue but the significant cuts to education budgets come from the British Government and local politicians have been paralysed by the political strategy adopted by the DUP.

“These are the real world consequences of a failing political system. We all have to resist this and we have to dedicate ourselves to building a better kind of society that allocates resources to our children to ensure they have the best possible start in life.”