Local street food vendors are to donate food to support children through half term as Northfield’s MP has defended his decision to vote to reject Labour’s proposal to continue Free School Meal provision through the school holidays. Birmingham City Council is also to provide vouchers to help families through the holiday.
But one local councillor says the MP’s explanatory statement is “a slap in the face” for local families and Digbeth Dining Club street food vendors have stepped up to help support children in the constituency over the coming week.
The proposal to offer free meals throughout holidays until Easter 2021 was rejected in Parliament by 322 votes to 261 on Wednesday rejected in Parliament by 322 votes to 261 on Wednesday (21st October), with Gary Sambrook (Conservative, Birmingham Northfield) voting against.
Addressing the House of Commons in July following a statement from the Secretary of State for Education on the reopening of schools after lockdown, Mr Sambrook said: “Birmingham, Northfield has the highest proportion of free school meals of any constituency across the country. That is why it is so important that young people are back in school and back in colleges learning again.”
Councillor Olly Armstrong (Labour, Northfield) invited Mr Sambrook to a virtual Ward forum meeting to speak on the subject of child poverty.
’Deepening cycle of state dependency’
Unable to attend, Mr Sambrook issued a statement explaining his decision.
In the letter, Mr Sambrook wrote: “The situation now is totally different. The majority of children are back in school and have therefore been benefiting from free school meals during term time as normal.
“We need to avoid creating a deepening cycle of state dependency. We inherited too much of this from the last Labour government.”
The wording of Mr Sambrook’s letter has been widely criticised on social media, with some pointing out that very similar statements have been released by other Tory MPs.
The last paragraph of this letter is extraordinary https://t.co/6JEYudWZPW
— david allen green (@davidallengreen) October 22, 2020
‘This is about children’s lives’
Cllr Armstrong said: “Gary Sambrook seems to be arguing that children only need feeding whilst they are at school otherwise they might become dependent on benefits.
“This will feel like a slap in the face to thousands of families in Northfield who are struggling to get by in this brutal pandemic through no fault of their own.
“This is not about party politics, this is about children’s lives.
“Gary Sambrook should spend less time copying and pasting Conservative Press Releases and more time standing up for his constituents.”
’Need to work together’
Defending his position today, Mr Sambrook said: “It’s absolutely vital that we target money to the most vulnerable in society. That’s why I supported an extra £63million to target help to our poorest children, an extra £9billion in welfare and fed over 1.4m children since the pandemic started.
“Unfortunately many of the usual people who just want to cause division and stoke up fear are trying to pretend that no help is being given at all. We are in the middle of a national crisis and all need to work together.”
Street vendors, community groups and city council step up
Councils, communities and businesses across the country are stepping up to provide food and provisions for children, inspired by football star Marcus Rashford’s social media campaign for Free School Meals.
Digbeth Dining Club (DDC) has engaged some of their regular street food vendors to help provide meals for children of some of Northfield constituency’s low income families.
Working alongside Northfield Community Partnership, The Project, New Starts, Northfield Baptist Church and other members of the Northfield Community Stakeholders group, local councillors Olly Armstrong and Alex Aitken (Labour, Kings Norton North) and volunteers have set up Northfield Food Service to help distribute the meals to those who have been refered by schools and other services.
Thanking Digbeth Dining Club, a spokesperson for Northfield Food Service said: “We are a collective of local community groups and activists who have got together to ensure that no child goes hungry in half term. We aim to ensure that local families who need help the most will be provided with hot meals whilst children are off school.
“The COVID-19 crisis has left some families not knowing where their next pay cheque is coming from – but we refuse to leave them questioning where their next meal is coming from.”
DDC director Jack Brabant said: “As event operators in Longbridge for the last few years we are aware of the needs of people in the surrounding areas. We have been motivated by the vote against free school meals in the last few days and wanted to use our resources to support feeding kids through half term. By partnering up with the Northfield Food Service we hope to do our bit to help.”
Birmingham City Council leader Cllr Ian Ward confirmed that the city will provide for the 61,000 children in the city who receive Free School Meals this half term.
He tweeted: “We will make sure that the 61,000 Birmingham children on free school meals do not go hungry over the half-term. But the Government needs to come up with a sustainable solution over the longer term.”
The details of the provision are yet to be confirmed.
I wonder if MPs will say “no” to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority’s recommendation of giving them an extra £3,300 pay rise (in line with inflation) next year?
The same “independent” authority is also recommending MPs claim expenses on any poppies or wreaths purchased for Remembrance Sunday next month!
And given that the Chancellor has already handed out £209bn of public money for business support during this pandemic (money he doesn’t have), with a projected forecast almost topping £400bn by the end of this financial year. Add to that yet another £800m over-run on the £106bn HS2 white elephant, I find it ironic bordering on sadistic that another billion or so cannot be found for free school meals for those who need it most!
But as David Cameron once opined “we’re all in this together!”
Gary Sambrook has failed to support any of the votes in Parliament that would help the populace in general & his own constituents in particular. He has, however, defended Dominic Cummings & his appalling behaviour, and backed possibly unethical decisions to give Tory donors favourable treatment. I have emailed him on several concerns & he has failed to admit his decisions could be flawed. The only thing he has done for concerns in Northfield is to attack the Labour led City Council!
So many families are struggling through no fault of their own. People who once had jobs and businesses find themselves with vastly reduced incomes.
Let’s also remember that a lot of children have had to be sent home to isolate due to their teachers or classmates have tested positive for covid, so they haven’t enjoyed their school dinner during those days.
How much is an average MPs daily meal allowance?… £25.09 a day I’ve heard! Not a measly £3.00 a day as for school children.
The government should be ashamed that food businesses, who are already strapped, are offering their services free over the half term.
You don’t appear to have provided a reference for the claim that Birmingham Northfield is the constituency with the highest level of free school meals provision in the U.K.
I’m not refuting the claim, but it’s hard to confirm without data, which I can’t find anywhere.
Can you please reference this claim?
Thanks!
Mr Sambrook himself cited this in the House of Commons in July See here.
I’ve amended the article. Thanks!
Sambrook, along with the others just towed the Tory line in their “ganging up” on Rashford. The party readily admits to e-mailing the MP’s and prompting them on what to say in their response for voting against it. That is why the responses are all very similar in their text. Please let us hear you have a voice of your own Mr Sambrook and support your constituency. We don’t need a puppet we need a leader!
Out of touch on on the way out. Mr Sambrook should start counting the days until the next election. He should resign to save himself the embarrassment of a humiliating defeat. The sooner the better. How we miss Mr Burden! He would never have behaved so heartlessly.