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A council leader has accused his opposite number of "politicising" the issue of extending free school meal provision.
Medway Council leader Alan Jarrett branded the manner in which the Town's Labour Group asked to extend the provision of free school meals into the Christmas and Easter breaks as "unacceptable".
The idea was put forward by Leader of the Opposition Vince Maple, who wrote a letter to Cllr Jarrett and Cllr Martin Potter (Con), portfolio holder for education and schools.
He said: "It is reassuring to see that many people, organisations, and businesses throughout Medway have taken action to ensure that children do not go hungry and we congratulate them and Marcus Rashford MBE who has done so much to highlight this issue."
Cllr Jarrett replied in a letter posted on social media, saying he was delighted to establish a partnership with Citizens Advice Medway (CAM), which fed around 5,000 pupils last week.
However he went on to say: "Your question about future funding is made in the context of an ongoing national crisis.
"As such, I will await reaction from central government to this particular issue, and will certainly not commit Medway to future provision until I am clearer about the stance the government is taking."
"In closing, I must say how very disappointing [sic] I was to find you and your team politicising this matter.
"It is unacceptable that you choose to prey on the fears of vulnerable people in this way in order to see shallow political advantage."
Medway Conservatives had been in discussions with Chatham and Aylesford MP Tracey Crouch to consider ways in which the council would be able to support vulnerable families.
Following this, the Medway Labour Group successfully petitioned the council to commit to help families over the October half-term, which they decided they would do by using funding from the government’s one-off Emergency Assistance Grant, distributed through CAM.
Families with children eligible for free school meals have been able to access vouchers and bags of essentials from the voluntary organisation, which is based in Gillingham.
In a press release issued today by Medway Council, it was re-iterated that 5,117 of Medway schoolchildren eligible for free school meals received food parcels or vouchers during October half-term, thanks to work by Medway Council and Citizens Advice Medway .
CAM is continuing to manage the grant on behalf of the council, and as part of its existing contract through the Local Welfare Provision scheme.
Families who contacted CAM were told how they could access free lunches for eligible children. The council also contacted schools across Medway and asked them to share details of the initiative with parents and carers.
Cllr Jarrett said: “Thanks to the partnership with Citizens Advice Medway, thousands of children had access to free school meals over the October half-term. I would like to thank Citizens Advice Medway for their ongoing work supporting Medway’s residents. We are committed to supporting Medway’s most vulnerable children.”
Cllr Martin Potter, Medway Council’s Portfolio Holder for Education and Schools, said: “I am pleased that thousands of families contacted Citizens Advice Medway and that together we have been able to help 5,117 children this half-term. Thank you to everyone at Medway Council and CAB for making this happen and for the wider work of our teams supporting children, families and individuals in need of support in Medway.”
Dan McDonald, chief executive officer at Citizens Advice Medway, said: “I am so proud of my amazing team at Citizens Advice Medway.
"Once again they stepped up and helped set up a huge operation in only two days. We have supported thousands of children in Medway and their parents and carers.
"My thanks go to the council officers for their support and in particular to the leader of the council who would ring me several times a day to check in and see how we all were. Finally, I would like to say a huge thank you to all those who came to receive support from us, your kindness and respect to my team was overwhelming.”
additional reporting by Nikki White
