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At one school in #Mansfield 75% of kids have a social worker, 25% of parents are illiterate. Their estate is the centre of the area's crime. One kid lives in a crack den, another in a brothel. These are the kids that most need our help, extending #FSM doesn't reach these kids 1/4
2/4 thats why I said no to extending #FSM. 100,000s of the 1.4m kids on FSM don't need it, whilst those most in need won't benefit from it as they need much more direct and targeted support. We can spend that money better to help the most vulnerable kids more effectively.
3/4 We've given £bns to Councils to target these vulnerable families & kids, so that they can give out meals if thats what is best and most needed, or different help if its better... Nobody is 'not helping' but #FSM isn't precise enough to target vulnerable kids with right help.
There is no sense whatsoever in pretending to ourselves that just giving 1.4m kids free meals in hols fixes things. Many kids don't need it, and many in genuine need won't benefit from it due to extreme lives and problems. To be effective, we have to be more personal and local.
