Latest news with #BridgetPhilipson
The Sun
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Sun
Half a million more kids will be entitled to free school meals in massive expansion of the scheme
HALF a million more kids will be entitled to free school meals under a massive expansion of the scheme, Sir Keir Starmer announced last night. Every child in a household on Universal Credit will now be eligible for state sponsored lunches, in a move that should lift 100,000 children out of poverty. 1 Expanding free school meals will save parents on benefits £500 per child every year, according to the Department for Education. Kids in UC households currently not eligible will be able to start claiming lunches from the start of the 2026 school year. The entitlement will apply in all settings where free school meals are available, including school-based nurseries and further-education settings. Most parents will be able to apply before the start of the new school year by providing a national insurance number. Education Secretary Bridget Philipson told The Sun the move is critical for ending the post-pandemic school attendance crisis and cracking down on bad behaviour. She said: 'What we're announcing is a game changer. 'This will make a big difference to children's attendance and behaviour at school because we know that if kids are hungry, they don't concentrate well. 'Sun will benefit directly from saving £500 per child per year.' Since 2018 kids have only been eligible for free meals if their household income is less than £7,400 per year. The major expansion comes ahead of the government's Child Poverty Taskforce publishing a ten-year strategy to drive down poverty. It also follows mounting pressure on the PM from rebel Labour MPs to scrap the two-child benefit cap. Sir Keir said: 'Working parents across the country are working tirelessly to provide for their families but are being held back by cost-of-living pressures. 'My government is taking action to ease those pressures. 'Feeding more children every day, for free, is one of the biggest interventions we can make to put more money in parents' pockets, tackle the stain of poverty, and set children up to learn.'
The Sun
27-05-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Sir Keir Starmer has ‘no mandate' to scrap two-child benefit cap, warns Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride
SIR Keir Starmer has 'no mandate' for scrapping the two-child benefit cap, Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride warned yesterday. The top Tory blasted the PM for preparing to splurge billions on ditching another of his election pledges in sop to Labour lefties. 3 3 In the build up to July's ballot, Sir Keir declared he wouldn't abandon the cap, and didn't include any policy around abolition in his party manifesto. Furious Mr Stride said: 'He promised he wouldn't do it, but now it looks as though he's going to break that promise and spend billions more. 'Reversing the cap isn't just irresponsible, it's unfair. " Labour's desperate U-turns show they can't be trusted with your money." It came as Education Secretary Bridget Philipson yesterday said scrapping the cap, which would cost £3.6bn a year, is an option 'on the table' for the Treasury. Asked whether ministers are planning to abolish the cap, she told Times Radio: "It's on the table. "No measures are off the table." The Education Secretary added: "We've always been clear about that and of course social security is an important element of how we tackle child poverty. "It's not the only area. Childcare plays an important role, skills, how we ensure that more people are able to get back into work. "But of course we can't ignore the impact of social security changes, social security changes that were introduced by the Conservatives that a Labour government would not have introduced in the first place.' 3
The Sun
22-05-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Millions of teachers and doctors WILL get inflation-busting pay rise
MINISTERS have accepted inflation-busting pay rises for millions of public sector workers - but the cash may still trigger strike action. Millions of public sector workers are give the green light to the pay deals but they are above the 2.8 per cent already budgeted for setting up a collision with unions. 2 Teachers and doctors in England will be given a 4 per cent rise and other NHS workers will be given a 3.6 per cent hike. Most members of the armed forces will be handed a 4.5 per cent increase - with senior members of the military 3.75 per cent. Number 10 previously said that there would be 'no additional funding' for pay if the Pay Review Bodies go beyond what departments can afford. Education Secretary Bridget Philipson said schools will be expected to find the first 1 per cent of pay awards through 'improved productivity and smarter spending'. She said: 'Schools will be expected to find approximately the first 1% of pay awards through improved productivity and smarter spending to make every pound count. 'There will be those who say this cannot be done, but I believe schools have a responsibility, like the rest of the public sector, to ensure that their funding is spent as efficiently as possible.' Ms Phillipson said: 'Beyond that first 1%, the cost of this pay award will be covered by the additional funding I am announcing today, on top of funding increases already in schools.' The Unite union has previously called on its members to rebuff any deal on the table to its members having been offered a rise of 3.2 per cent. Union boss Sharon Graham last month said: 'Yet again, this year's pay offer fails to tackle low pay for local government workers, who have endured years of below-inflation rises on top of the cost-of-living crisis.' Daniel Kebede, who is boss of the National Education Union, has said that his organisation is 'ready to act industrially' if needed. The Royal College of Nursing have also said that a 3 per cent rise is unlikely to to help the sector which is in crisis. Just weeks into coming in to office last July, Ministers signed off bumper pay deals for train drivers and doctors.
BBC News
14-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Free breakfast clubs open at Cornwall schools
The launch of government-funded free breakfast clubs has more than doubled attendance before lessons at a group of five primary schools in Cornwall, school leaders at schools taking part in the pilot scheme can access 30 minutes of free in the Cornwall Education Learning Trust said they had 183 pupils attending breakfast clubs within the first few weeks, compared to 90 before the government unions have raised concerns, saying funding is too low, but Education Secretary Bridget Philipson said it could help "break down barriers to opportunity". Dropping off her daughter on her way to work as a veterinary nurse, Kayleigh McCormack said she would be saving £43 a month. "It's a huge saving and, to know that she's happy to go in and she has something to eat while she is there, it is really good," she said.A teaching assistant at another school, Claire Wells, said she used the free breakfast club for her son and daughter and it "really eases the financial burden"."Before this, the breakfast club was costing me about £200 a month for both the children, but now that money has been freed up," she of two staff running the breakfast club, teaching assistant Gemma Weir, said before it was free they "averaged about five or six pupils a day"."This week we are averaging around 18, so that's amazing," she said. Claire Bunting is the Cradle to Career Lead at the Cornwall Education Learning Trust, which has the five schools taking part in the pilot, including Luxulyan. The other schools are: Mount Charles, Carclaze, Lostwithiel and said: "We have been prudent with how we are running this because, obviously, we don't want to use our main school funding to supplement it. "This is why the trial is so important because then we can get it right when the national roll-out comes and we know we can fund it appropriately."Luxulyan School head teacher Nathan Cooper said the pilot scheme had improved punctuality and the early "soft start" helped some children that "maybe struggled to come into school on some days".He said: "All schools are under pressure with budgets, which is why being an early adopter is good to pave the way and see whether this is a viable financial option in the long-term." About 750 schools in England are taking part in the pilot, which will run until July, after which the programme is expected to be rolled out has the most schools in the trial programme, with 25 signed up, while, in Cornwall, there are currently 15 schools offering the daily half-hour session.A spokesperson for the Department for Education said: "Allocated funding covers early adopter food, delivery and staffing costs and is based on previous breakfast club schemes, and discussions with schools who run breakfast clubs, and standard school staffing rates."The funding rates vary depending on up-take and pupil characteristics, so an average school with 50% take-up on the early adopter scheme would receive around £23,000 for a full year."All schools will receive £500 to cover initial set-up costs and a lump sum of at least £1,000 a term, regardless of how many pupils will be in attendance."
