The £30 food parcel that costs £5.22

[Nearly Sane]

This is scandalous - but since Marcus Rashford is on the case I expect something to happen

https://news.sky.com/story/i-could-do-more-with-16330-angry-mum-criticises-free-school-meals-hamper-12185627?dcmp=snt-sf-twitter

[The Accountant, OBE, KC]

Sometimes Twitter can be quite useful. Hope this is just a local issue of profiteering and not company-wide.

The issue of university students in self-isolation or forced quarantine in halls of residence being overcharged while being provided with junk food rather than nutritious meals was raised recently. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-54486269

I remember Panorama doing a program on some of the private companies running school academies that were fleecing taxpayers with false expenses - salaries for teachers who never taught there, fake maintenance costs, paying family members on the payroll or for contracts etc

[Nearly Sane]

The money should be given directly to the families

[The Accountant, OBE, KC]

There is always a worry with cash donations direct to families whether the actual problem will be solved or whether there will still be an issue of hungry children. There are concerns about whether the money will reach the intended beneficiaries - the children - and be spent on food rather than something else.

Independent sign-offs by accountants and auditors on the financials becomes more difficult if there is no evidence that the money channelled to this cause was spent in a way that achieved the project's goals.

[Nearly Sane]

There is always a worry with cash donations direct to families whether the actual problem will be solved or whether there will still be an issue of hungry children. There are concerns about whether the money will reach the intended beneficiaries - the children - and be spent on food rather than something else.

Independent sign-offs by accountants and auditors on the financials becomes more difficult if there is no evidence that the money channelled to this cause was spent in a way that achieved the project's goals.

Except they were already giving out vouchers which protected against that.

[Nearly Sane]

And some analysis of the benefits of cash in this


https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/science-blog/evidence-behind-putting-money-directly-pockets-poor#

[Roses]

This is scandalous - but since Marcus Rashford is on the case I expect something to happen

https://news.sky.com/story/i-could-do-more-with-16330-angry-mum-criticises-free-school-meals-hamper-12185627?dcmp=snt-sf-twitter

I agree, that is disgusting and hope Rashford sorts it out so it doesn't happen again.

[The Accountant, OBE, KC]

Except they were already giving out vouchers which protected against that.

Yes - not sure why Edenred are only working with a small number of local authorities to provide vouchers this time round. I know last time during lockdown there were delays getting vouchers to people as Edenred did not have the manpower/ IT infrastructure? to cope with the increased demand for vouchers. Not sure if due to that issue the local authorities are trying to provide goods rather than vouchers in some areas.

Possibly similar to reports that the vaccine IT infrastructure for recording patients contacted, appointments made etc kept going down causing delays.

[The Accountant, OBE, KC]

And some analysis of the benefits of cash in this


https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/science-blog/evidence-behind-putting-money-directly-pockets-poor#

Thanks. Good to know.

[Nearly Sane]

I agree, that is disgusting and hope Rashford sorts it out so it doesn't happen again.

It's a bit pathetic when a footballer is the person getting this sort of thing sorted while the govt is so corrupt.

[Nearly Sane]

And looks like Rashford has generated action


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-55641740

[jeremyp]

The money should be given directly to the families

In voucher form, otherwise you'll find it being spent on beer and cigarettes in a few cases - probably the few where it matters most.

[Nearly Sane]

From Marcus Rashford on Twitter


Just had a good conversation with the Prime Minister. He has assured me that he is committed to correcting the issue with the food hampers and that a full review of the supply chain is taking place. He agrees that images of hampers being shared on Twitter are unacceptable.

[Nearly Sane]

Matt Hancock!

https://youtu.be/xR_AV8RcXyc

[Nearly Sane]

Vouchers from next week


https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance-for-schools#national-voucher-scheme

[SusanDoris]

Well done, Marcus Rashford.

[ProfessorDavey]

Vouchers from next week


https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance-for-schools#national-voucher-scheme

Agree with this and good to see the change ... with one caveat.

This is yet another additional burden that is being placed on schools - the process for applying for the vouchers and their distribution will fall to schools as a further thing they need to do, which is a new process. Not as if they aren't already massively over-burdened

[Roses]

Agree with this and good to see the change ... with one caveat.

This is yet another additional burden that is being placed on schools - the process for applying for the vouchers and their distribution will fall to schools as a further thing they need to do, which is a new process. Not as if they aren't already massively over-burdened

I agree they schools are overburdened. My husband thanks his lucky stars he is no longer a secondary school head teacher, he retired in 2004. 

[Nearly Sane]

Hot take from Daily Telegraph

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2021/01/13/marcus-rashford-waging-brilliant-war-must-careful-not-let-football/

[The Accountant, OBE, KC]

Anyone hear Prime Minister's Question Time today about the free school meals parcels?

https://www.indy100.com/news/boris-johnson-keir-starmer-pmqs-school-meals-b1786645

In response to Kier Starmer asking the PM “if he would be happy with his kids living on that and if not why is he happy for other people’s kids to do so?” 

Boris Johnson:  nobody in the Commons is happy with the “disgraceful images we’ve seen of the food parcels that have been offered.”

The PM added that the packages were "appalling and an insult to the families" and thanked Marcus Rashford who is “doing an effective job by comparison to the right honourable gentleman in holding the government to account.”

Kier Starmer: This is from the Department of Education Prime Minister, you want to be held account: one loaf of bread, two baked potatoes, block of cheese, baked beans, three individual yoghurts. Sound familiar? That’s the images Prime Minister that you just called ‘disgraceful.’ The only difference I can see in this list and what the Prime Minister just described as ‘disgraceful’ is a tin of sweetcorn, a packet of ham and a bottle of milk.”


It appears that while Boris has been blaming the company that supplied the free school meal parcel for the contents of the disgraceful food parcel, the Government's list of what should be in the free school meal parcel is exactly what was sent except it was missing a tin of sweetcorn, a packet of ham and a bottle of milk.

[Udayana]

Boris thinks the images are disgraceful, not sure he can see past them to foresee problems and put in the work to actually avoid or fix them.

After the fiasco of the school exams last year, why on earth didn't they have contingency plans for dealing with the exact same problems this May/June coming?

It's not only him and the cabinet, the whole government seems incapable.

[Nearly Sane]

This just seems to be asking for trouble switching systems for a week.


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-55663564

[The Accountant, OBE, KC]

Boris thinks the images are disgraceful, not sure he can see past them to foresee problems and put in the work to actually avoid or fix them.

After the fiasco of the school exams last year, why on earth didn't they have contingency plans for dealing with the exact same problems this May/June coming?

It's not only him and the cabinet, the whole government seems incapable.

The government did not think the images were disgraceful when they listed them as government policy. Having said that I usually have a cheese sandwich for lunch and some fruit so I actually don't think the food is bad. When schools were open my kids just got a sandwich from the school if they could not have lunch in the canteen because of a sports practice, match or club or extra-curricular music lesson.

But we usually have a cooked evening meal with nutritious veg and a salad so lunch was not a big deal. Breakfast was usually just cereal.

[Nearly Sane]

DRoss cross with CRoss


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-55673808

[The Accountant, OBE, KC]

DRoss cross with CRoss


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-55673808

Kind of stupid of him to make statements without evidence in his podcast to support comments such as “I’m not saying that every single person who claims to be really hungry and is reliant on charity is also very overweight, but what I am saying is if Channel 4 News is having a reasonable go at showing the reality of food bank usage, then we know that the people that they film are far from starving.

“If anything, their biggest risk is not starvation, it’s diabetes.” 

But kind of what we've come to expect from a lot of our politicians these days.