Jamie Oliver has denied being part of the so-called “anti-growth coalition” and has called for the threshold to be expanded for those who qualify for free school meals.
The celebrity chef urged the government to widen the eligibility threshold for free school meals, saying he believes it could improve the country’s finances amid the ongoing economic turmoil.
At present, the children of parents who are on Universal Credit and have an annual income of no more than £7,400, or are on another benefit such as jobseeker’s allowance, are eligible for free school meals.
In England, all children in reception, year 1 or year 2 at state-funded schools are entitled to free school meals regardless of their parents or carers’ household income.
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While in Scotland, all children in any year between reception and year 5 at state-funded schools also have access to free school meals without income means testing taking place.
“If they were to open the threshold of who would be allowed to have a free school lunch, that would also inject funds into the system that would also really help to guarantee a much better service across 26,000 schools in the country,” Oliver told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
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During her keynote speech at the Conservative Party’s conference in Birmingham last week, Prime Minister Liz Truss accused those who are allegedly trying to hold back her pro-growth agenda of being part of the “anti-growth coalition”.
The PM said she was “not interested in how many two-for-one offers you buy at the supermarket”.
Downing Street later did not rule out that this included Oliver, who has long-campaigned against cheap junk food and buy one, get one free deals.
But Oliver said he is “completely not” part of the so-called anti-growth coalition.
I’ve spent a lifetime not only employing over 20,000 people but travelling around the world saying how brilliant Britain is,” he said.
The celebrity chef continued: “The reality is, if you speak to the best minds in economics, in the country, in the world, they will tell you that if you output healthier kids, you’re going to have a more productive, more profitable country, better GDP. To do that, you have to think in 10 to 20 years, not three-year cycles.”
Oliver suggested he was “up for the fight” on scrapping junk food multibuy deals despite having “no faith” that Ms Truss would change her views on the matter.
“We’ve been tracking her and her views for six, seven years, she’s not going to change,” he said.
Oliver added: “I think more importantly… if you can create an environment where every child has the ability to thrive at school, we know in every way, shape and form that kids who have a decent lunch and breakfast learn better, their educational attainment is better… but no-one’s taken it seriously yet.”
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He also called for “kindness” to be “injected through this party”, adding: “And I don’t know if they’ve got it in them to show this kindness.”
In response to the chef’s comments about kindness, the PM’s official spokesman said: “This is a government that takes action to protect people.”
On Oliver’s call for wider access to free school meals, the spokesman added: “We do provide a significant number of families with free school meals. Obviously we need to make sure we’re setting the right balance.”
