Conor McGinn MP Member of Parliament for St Helens North
Conor McGinn MP has welcomed the Labour Party’s pledge that the next Labour Government will provide free school meals for all primary school children, a change that could benefit 7,986 children in St Helens.
Labour will fund the policy by introducing VAT on private school fees, it is estimated this will raise хЃ1.5billion. The House of Commons Library estimates that the cost of providing free school meals for all primary school children would be хЃ700-хЃ900 million.
Research confirmed by the National Centre for Social Research and the Institute for Fiscal Studies has shown offering universal access to free school meals improves educational attainment. The provision of free school meals also has been proven to improve the health of pupils through better nutrition.\n
“No child in St Helens should go without a decent lunch and be hungry at school.
“By charging VAT on private schools fees, the next Labour Government will make sure all primary school children, no matter what their background, get a healthy meal at school.
“This will benefit lower income families in my constituency who don’t qualify for free school meals currently, but are still struggling to make ends meet.
“Research shows that this will improve educational attainment and will help make sure that no child is at a disadvantage because of their background.”