Labour drops holiday meal vouchers they insisted Tories keep

Published: 00:15, 20 July 2026 | Updated: 00:16, 20 July 2026 Labour has scrapped a scheme for school holiday meal vouchers only six years after it forced the Tories into a U-turn to keep it. Councils nationwide have quietly ended their supermarket voucher schemes offering families in need of a lifeline over the summer. And, despite the school break having started, some councils have yet to announce alternative support. Other parents received notices of the changes only last week, in the final days of the school term. It comes after Labour changed funding rules for councils, leaving many forced to cut their voucher schemes to save cash. The holiday voucher scheme was introduced by the Tories in 2020 to help families struggling to afford meals in term time while schools were closed due to Covid. But a national campaign by England footballer Marcus Rashford, which was backed by Labour, led then-prime minister Boris Johnson to U-turn on his decision to cut the scheme when the holidays started. At the time Bridget Phillipson – now the Education Secretary – accused ministers of 'faffing about while children go hungry'.  England footballer Marcus Rashford (pictured) won widespread praise after helping secure millions of pounds in food voucher support for low-income families Yet the Labour Government is now pushing councils to drop the vouchers. Ministers scrapped the Conservatives' Household Support Fund (HSF) and replaced it with a Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF) in April, leaving some councils with less money to play with over a three-year period. Under the CRF's guidance, ministers advise councils to 'prioritise funding efficiently' when supporting families, adding: 'We recognise that some free school meal eligible families may not routinely need crisis support during every school holiday.' Just two per cent of councils thought the CRF funding settlement of £1billion a year would be sufficient to meet local welfare needs, according to a Local Government Association survey. Faced with reduced budgets and pressure from the Government, at least 15 councils have now ended the school voucher schemes. Tory education spokesman Laura Trott accused Labour of 'a sleight of hand'. She said: 'While ministers boast about a so-called Great British Summer savings scheme, changes they have made to the funding rules mean councils across the country are ending holiday free school meal voucher schemes. 'As ever with Labour, the rhetoric doesn't match the reality. How ironic that on class warrior Bridget Phillipson's watch, families who relied on that extra help this summer are being left worse off.' Labour has scrapped a scheme for school holiday meal vouchers only six years after it forced the Tories into a U-turn to keep it (Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson is pictured) A government spokesman said: 'The £1billion Crisis and Resilience Fund is a genuine safety net to prevent families from falling into crises. 'Local authorities have been given the funding and the flexibility to design support that works for their communities, including how to support free school meal eligible families during this summer. The decisions on how that support is delivered are theirs to make. 'In our recent survey of over 20,000 parents and carers, more than 90 per cent of responses said the programme had helped them worry less about money during the holidays and made it easier for them to work.'