Changes to school holiday meal voucher scheme in Central Beds mean families may need to apply for help
Families in Central Bedfordshire currently covered by the council’s school holiday free school meal voucher scheme may need to apply for support after May half-term.
A report to the Corporate Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee on Tuesday (April 21) said the blanket provision of vouchers during holidays would continue until the end of May half-term 2026, after which it would stop.
The report said families who previously received vouchers could apply for Crisis Payments if they were in financial hardship and met the eligibility criteria.
The Department for Work and Pensions’ Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF) is a new three-year national programme replacing both the Household Support Fund (HSF) and Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP).
The committee was told that it aims to provide “sustainable, preventative support” for residents facing “sudden” financial shocks and to build long-term resilience within local communities.
Central Bedfordshire Council has been allocated £2.625 million for 2026/27 through the new scheme, including ring-fenced housing support funding.
The report said the authority spent £1.8 million on free school meal holiday support in 2025/26.
Councillor Eugene Ghent (Conservative, Dunstable West) asked about the plan to inform residents about the changes to free school holiday meals.
He said: “It’s not going to go down well, is it? Because a couple of years ago, when it stopped briefly there was a big uproar, then it was brought back in again.”
Robert Ling, director of resources and organisational change, said: “I don’t think it ever goes down well when you find out you’re losing something that you previously got.
“The reality is, if we continue the free school meals at this universal level that we’re doing at the moment, it would spend all of the crisis resilience fund.
“The pots of money that we use before are no longer available to us, so this is where decisions are going to have to be made.”
Mr Ling explained that not everyone needs the universal approach, and those who still do need this support can apply.
“This is a matter that’s close to my heart, I grew up on free school meals and free school clothing, so I know this matters,” he added.
“The challenge moving forward is to make sure people are connected to the right level of support, whether that is helping find employment, connecting to other offers and support.
“The letter going out will go out next week, informing people of that aspect.
“Clearly getting the agreement for May would mean that we can finish at the end of this school year and then go into the summer,” he said.