A Bedford borough councillor urged the authority to use a new government support fund to continue school holiday food vouchers – moments after the administration said the same fund was the replacement scheme.
At Wednesday’s Full Council, cllr Jane Walker (Clapham, Conservative), the portfolio holder for valuing families: children’s services, said the vouchers had been funded through a government grant, which had now ended.
“It was the household support grant that paid for these, which unfortunately finished,” she said.
She told councillors the scheme had been replaced by a government-backed Crisis and Resilience Fund, which families can apply to “if they do need help in a crisis”, alongside continued provision through the Holiday Activities and Food programme and support via family hubs.
Cllr Walker was responding to a question from cllr Hilde Hendrickx (Riverfield, Lib Dem), who said: “We’ve just learned that your administration have decided to stop the provision of these vouchers.
“Are you willing to reconsider the decision to axe these vouchers for children on free school meals?”
Cllr Walker told councillors the scheme had been replaced by a government-backed Crisis and Resilience Fund, which families can apply to “if they do need help in a crisis. On top of that, we are continuing the holiday activities and food scheme,” she said.
“Throughout all the holidays, the family hubs will be providing food for families to access. We’ve stopped it because the grant finished.”
However, cllr Hilde Hendrickx said around £2.5 million in support funding remained available and could be used to continue vouchers, including through the Crisis and Resilience Fund – the fund that had already been identified by cllr Walker as the replacement for the previous scheme.
Government figures show Bedford Borough Council is due to receive about £2.45 million through the new Crisis and Resilience Fund in 2026/27, although this funding is intended to cover a range of support needs rather than being ringfenced for school holiday vouchers.
Crisis and Resilience Fund
For families who previously received vouchers automatically, support may now depend on applying for help, with assistance provided on a more targeted basis rather than as a universal payment.
In Cambridgeshire, cited as an example by cllr Hendrickx, the county council has approved only a temporary extension of vouchers at a reduced rate (£10 instead of £15), using additional council funding.
It has been said that the scheme cannot be funded through the new Crisis and Resilience Fund.
Holiday food vouchers were introduced nationally during the Covid-19 pandemic and have since often been funded through government cost-of-living support grants such as the Household Support Fund, which councils administer locally.
A report approved by the council’s Executive earlier this month described the change as a “complete structural shift” away from blanket voucher-style support, stating that such distributions are “no longer compliant” under the new model.
Government guidance states that the Crisis and Resilience Fund, which replaces the previous scheme from next month, is designed to provide more targeted, needs-based support, with councils deciding how funding is distributed rather than delivering universal payments.
By John Guinn
Local Democracy Reporter
