Winchester & Chandler's Ford MP Steve Brine has welcomed a Government announcement that pupils at local infant schools are to get free school lunches from next September.
The change – which will apply for children in reception, year one and year two - will save parents about £400 a year per child.
Steve Brine said; "The Chancellor suggested in his big economic speech last week he had various ideas to help my constituents with the cost of living and this appears to be a very welcome move. When we get back to Westminster, after the hot-air of conference season, I want to look at the detail of how this will work and understand how exactly we're going to pay for it but I believe the move will be welcomed by many of the middle-income families I represent.
"This is especially interesting to me because I recently helped a constituent who was struggling to pay lunch fees for their child and there was an issue around an arrears which had built up which cast doubt on their access to school lunches going forward.
"Personally I would have preferred to see the universal child benefit payment protected, which I know many families used to pay school meal fees, but this is a specific pledge to ensure every child in those crucial early school years has a warm meal every lunchtime and all the evidence points clearly to the benefit of that."
Pictured; Steve in the school kitchen on a recent to Scantabout Primary School in Chandler's Ford.
