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With the impending cold nights and long dark days, many Londoners are worried about how they’re going to pay their energy bills and buy essentials this winter. To ease the pressure on families as the summer holidays come to an end, London Mayor Sadiq Khan has called for free school meals for all children in London and the rest of the UK.
In a tweet, the London Mayor called for everyone to be offered free meals at school when term starts again in September. On Sunday Sadiq Khan tweeted: ‘Free school meals must be rolled out ASAP for kids returning in September. Surely this is something we can all agree on. Let’s get it done.’
In a separate tweet about the rising price of household bills, he said: ‘It beggars belief that anyone in Govt could consider these astronomical hikes acceptable. Families should not be forced to absorb the cost of this crisis.
‘Do what’s right. Freeze the cap at £1,971. Introduce a Lifeline Tariff. Get kids free school meals. And let me freeze rents.’
This isn’t the first time Sadiq has called for free school meals. He first asked for primary school children to have free lunches in June as the cost of living crisis worsened.
Prices of food and energy are soaring much quicker than wages. In July this year food inflation reached a 14-year high and was the worst it had been in the UK since at least 2008. Data from the Office of National Statistics showed that general inflation hit 10.1 percent in July, up from 9.4 percent in June.
According to government statistics, 22.5 percent of pupils in the UK are currently eligible for free school meals, up from 20.8 percent in 2021. This equates to just under 1.9 million children.
To protect Londoners from growing inflation and living costs Sadiq, also recently declared that we needed a London rent freeze, but he hasn’t been granted the power to do so.
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