Leeds councillors to vote on free school meals call

Liberal Democrat members of Leeds City Council will call on the authority to continue to put pressure on the Government over free school meals at a meeting next week.
By Richard Beecham
Published 4th Nov 2020, 18:07 BST
Updated 4th Nov 2020, 18:10 BST
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

Coun Diane Chapman is set to put forward a motion – known as a white paper – before a full meeting of Leeds City Council next week.

It reads: “This council implores the government to implement, as a matter of urgency, a free schools meal equivalent scheme for all eligible children during school holidays and lockdowns.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Authority members will then be asked to vote on whether to adopt the motion as a policy of the council.

Leeds councillors will vote on whether to further pressurise the government on free school meals.Leeds councillors will vote on whether to further pressurise the government on free school meals.
Leeds councillors will vote on whether to further pressurise the government on free school meals.

It follows the highly publicised campaign led by Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford last month to push for the government to provide free school meals for struggling families throughout the October half-term holidays.

A motion put forward by the Labour party which called for free school meals to be extended over school holidays until Easter 2021 was voted on by MPs in Parliament. It was defeated by 261 votes to 322 – majority 61 – in the Commons on Wednesday, October 21.

Three Leeds MPs – Andrea Jenkyns, Stuart Andrew and Alec Shelbrooke – voted against the bill.

The full Leeds City Council meeting is set to take place on Wednesday, November 11.

Related topics:Leeds City CouncilGovernmentLeedsLiberal DemocratMarcus RashfordLabour PartyMPsManchester United

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.