SDLP Foyle MLA Mark H Durkan
Mr Durkan had urged the Department of Education to rethink their decision given the cumulative impact of the cost of living crisis and incoming Universal Credit migration of Tax Credit claimants.
The department said the current budget is ‘insufficient to enable any resumption of School Holiday Food Grant (SHFG) payments to cover this Christmas period.’
Research has shown that food insecurity is impacting an ever-growing number of children in Northern Ireland.
Said the Foyle MLA: “At a time when there is a £3.3b package sitting on the table, it is appalling that food insecurity is a reality for some families in Northern Ireland.
“An equality and human rights policy screening published by the department recognised the value of school holiday food grant, it also recognised the disproportionate impact cuts would have on pupils with a disability.
“Yet they refuse to reinstate these payments which were a lifeline to so many low-income households. The decision isn’t only senseless but cruel.
“Foodbanks have witnessed a 194% increase in usage since 2018. Given such profound need, ring-fenced funding for holiday hunger payments should’ve been extended.
“The choice between heating or eating isn’t just an overused soundbite but a lived reality. The festive period can be a difficult time for so many; household costs including electric and heating, spike at this time of year with children home from school.
“The events of the last few years have left communities here primed for poverty.
“The situation has never been so bleak. I’ve parents approaching my office for support, breaking down in tears about their lived experience of the ‘cost of living crisis’, what it means for them and their children. For many it comes down to the cost of surviving.
“The North has been ploughed into Dickensian conditions, meanwhile the DUP stand idly claiming they’re not ‘not calendar-led’ but ‘condition-led.’
“It’s high time they were conscience-led and did what was right for people, for children whose families can’t afford to put meals on the table.
“Holiday hunger payments are needed in the short term but addressing the underlying causes of hunger and childhood poverty via the Anti-Poverty Strategy must be a priority for an incoming executive.”
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