Dame Caroline Dinenage, Member of Parliament for Gosport, has written to the Secretary of State for Education to push for a commitment to continue funding the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) Programme.
In a letter to Bridget Phillipson MP, Caroline wrote about the importance of the money to the delivery of schemes that are targeted throughout the year at supporting the 21 percent of children living below the poverty line in Gosport.
The HAF grant, which is given to Hampshire County Council, partly funds Gosport Borough Council’s Summer Passport Scheme. The Summer Passport Scheme has run since 2008 and provides hundreds of children annually with three weeks of free activities during the summer holidays. HAF funding also supports GlobeFit at Newtown Primary School, and Y Services for Young People.
Written questions to the Government have elicited no funding commitment past the financial year 2024/25. A recent response in answer to a question from Labour MP for Walsall and Bloxwich Valerie Vaz, said:
‘The department’s budgets for 2025/26 will be confirmed in due course, including the exact funding available for this type of support for children, young people and families during the holidays.’
Funding has been committed until March 2025
Alongside sending the letter, Caroline said:
‘Every year I see the fantastic opportunities offered to young people in Gosport, Lee on Solent, Stubbington, and Hill Head by the Holiday Activities and Food Programme.
'With the school Easter holidays approaching quickly it's imperative that Councils and staff are given certainty over funding streams so that parents and children know what support is available.”
Shadow Secretary of State for Education, Laura Trott, said:
‘The Education Secretary seems intent on taking an axe to yet another success of the previous Conservative Government – the Holiday Activities and Food programme. I cannot see any other reason that she would not commit to a programme that was proven to provide financial relief to parents, and that was universally popular among the children who participated, many of whom were on free school meals.’
ENDS
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