West Worcestershire MP Harriett Baldwin has welcomed measures which will help local children to access a nutritious meals while they stay at home.

Children who are eligible for free school meals will benefit from a national voucher scheme allowing them to continue to access meals whilst they stay at home.

Schools can now provide every eligible child with a weekly shopping voucher worth £15 to spend at supermarkets while schools are closed due to coronavirus.

Schools can continue to provide meals for collection or delivery themselves, but where this is not possible, the scheme will allow schools to provide vouchers to families electronically, or as a gift card for those without internet access.

The vouchers can be spent on food at a range of shops including Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Asda, Morrisons, Waitrose and M&S, with the Government working to get more shops to join the scheme as soon as possible.

Harriett commented: “The free school meals system offers important guarantee that school children can get a nutritious meal, so this step is an important one to take while children have to remain at home.

“So many families are doing the right thing and self-isolating at home and this step will make sure that they are able to offer a measure of continuity for parents.

“I also want to take this opportunity to thank the schools and teachers for the huge efforts they are putting in during these uncertain times.

“No child should go hungry as a result of the measures introduced to keep people at home, protect the NHS and save lives. That’s why we are launching this scheme to make sure children who usually benefit from free school meals still have access to healthy and nutritious meals while they are not attending school.”