Mansfield MP proud of new Government measures to help and support the vulnerable

Part of this package is £170 million to support those children, families and those of all ages who are in need.

Local councils will be given their share of this funding and determine who is most in need of this support.

This funding has been ring-fenced by government, meaning this money is guaranteed for this purpose and cannot be taken away.

Some of my constituents may remember that a few weeks ago Labour were accusing the Government of wanting to starve poor children by removing their free school meals.

I made clear that this was absolutely not the case and that we simply disagreed on the best method to help those children.

Schemes such as free school meals are simply too broad, including people who may have previously needed the help but don’t need it anymore, whilst also missing out some of the families who are in desperate need.

This new package avoids these problems by allowing local authorities to use a variety of factors and measures to make sure it reaches all of those who need it.

It's about a long term approach too, way beyond just this Christmas and a key part is the extension and expansion of the holiday activities programme, which has provided healthy food and structured activities to disadvantaged children since 2018.

Around 50,000 children are predicted to benefit from this expansion and the programme will now run through the Easter, summer and Christmas of 2021.

This bit is vital.

That face to face time and structured, personal support for the most disadvantaged children is absolutely key.

Helping others goes way beyond Government, and we should be proud of the community and business efforts.

We will support them, rather than try to replace them.

I am very pleased that this kind of rounded and targeted support has been announced, and that we’ve gone way beyond just free meals to a much bigger package of help for the most in need.

Ben Bradley is MP for Mansfield.