School meal shortages and end of Universal Credit uplift spark child poverty warning

ISS catering company has also warned schools to form contingency plans to ensure children are “well-fed” over winter.

The warning has sparked particular concern over provisions for 1.7 million children in England who receive free school meals.

According to reports by ITV News, an email, seen by the broadcaster, has been sent to around 450 schools with ISS-run canteens warning that food shortages and issues with supply “will get worse” and “could last until February”.

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While the supplier has said it believes it will be able to continue providing food for children, “menus may change at short notice”.

Schools have also been advised to “top up on long life, dried, tinned and frozen products to ensure that there will always be some form of food available in a worse case scenario”.

Placing orders a week in advance and allowing extra space for storage has also been recommended.

Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey said feedback from the party’s network of 2,400 local councillors suggests that food supply problems are widespread in schools.

“In government, Liberal Democrats delivered on free school meals, this government, through incompetence and carelessness is snatching them away. For too many children this is their one hot meal a day,” he added.

A spokesperson for ISS told ITV News: “Our priority is always the schools, and the children, whose meals we provide.

"We would like to reassure parents and carers that our ability to continue to provide nutritious school meals is not being impacted by the well-publicised shortages of items that the UK is currently experiencing.

"Naturally, we have contingency plans in place to ensure that a good supply of meals remains in place. That contingency planning includes regular communication with our stakeholders during these challenging times for many schools across the country.”

However, Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi said he wasn’t aware that any canteen providers had asked schools to stockpile food and said he intended to contact ISS to establish what their concerns are.

A Department for Education spokesperson said: "There is no evidence to suggest widespread supply issues. Schools have flexibility under the School Food Standards to substitute food products if particular ingredients or meals are not readily available.

“We routinely consider contingency arrangements and expect schools and catering companies supplying them to do the same.

“In the event of any disruption to supply, we will work with councils and the sector to ensure warm, nutritious meals can continue to be provided.”

The concerns over supply chains come days after the government ended the £20 Universal Credit uplift, raising concerns families would be forced to “choose between heating and eating” this winter.

Director of policy and campaigns at Action for Children, Imran Hussain, said: “Make no mistake, families on modest wages keeping their heads above water are going to be pushed under by this; we’re talking about hairdressers, care workers and shop workers.

“They’re being squeezed by a £20-a-week cut and squeezed by soaring food, fuel and energy prices. 

“There’s no road to levelling up the country that starts with making more children cold and hungry this winter.”

Recent research by the Young Women’s Trust found that 1.5 million young women, including those who are mothers and victims of domestic violence will be impacted by the cut.

Meanwhile, England and Manchester United footballer Marcus Rashford described his receipt of an honorary doctorate at the University of Manchester due his work to tackle child poverty as “bittersweet” because of the cut.

He warned the end of the uplift had come at the “worst time”, saying: “People in households are having to decide – and it reminds me of my situation [as a child] – you have to decide whether you eat or whether you are warm in the house. It’s a decision you don’t want people to go through, never mind children.”