Conservative plans will take lunches away from 34,532 children in Hertfordshire
34,532 schoolchildren in Hertfordshire will lose out on free lunches, under plans announced in the Conservative manifesto.
Free school lunches for pupils from reception to Year 2 were introduced by the Liberal Democrats in government, but Theresa May now plans to scrap them. The changes would cost families an average extra £480 a year for every child.
The Liberal Democrats have called on Conservative candidate in Hertford and Stortford, Mark Prisk, to make it clear whether or not he would vote for the plans.
The Conservatives are also proposing to make older people pay for social care costs from the value of their own homes when they die. This means on average, families in Hertfordshire would expect to see 74.7% of the value of their home spent on care costs.
Liberal Democrat for Hertford and Stortford, Mark Argent, commented:
"This Conservative manifesto shows the nasty party is back.
"Margaret Thatcher was known as the milk snatcher, it seems Theresa May will go down as the lunch snatcher.
"She is cynically snatching meals away from thousands/hundreds of children in Hertfordshire, while the elderly receiving care in their own home will face a 'Personal Death Tax' charged against their home.
"Mark Prisk must now come clean over whether he/she will vote to take away free lunches from the children of hard-pressed families.
"The Liberal Democrats will offer a brighter future by extending free school meals to all primary schools.
"We will stand up to Theresa May's cold, mean-spirited Britain, protecting those that need the most help and fighting for more funding for our schools and hospitals."
Figures on the number of children per school and local authority benefiting from universal infant free school meals can be found here. Universal free school meals for infant pupils (up to Year 2) were introduced by the Liberal Democrats in coalition government. Currently the government subsidises lunches for infants by £2.30 - these changes will mean removing £480 subsidy per child, per year.
Under Conservative proposals, for the first time, many people who receive care at home will have their home taken into account, to meet the costs when they die. This will apply to the almost half a million people who receive domiciliary care in the UK. Figures on the share of the average family home expected to be spent on social care costs can be found here, based on calculations provided by Royal London
Letter on Free School Meals
I would like to publicly ask the Conservative candidate at this election Mark Prisk if they will vote in favour of denying kids in reception, year one and year two a hot school lunch if they are elected to the House of Commons on June 8th or if they will commit to the Liberal Democrat plan to extend free school meals to all kids at primary school?
The Conservative manifesto shows the nasty party is back. Theresa May wants to take away free school meals from kids in reception, year one and year two even though all the evidence shows that it helps kids academically.
Theresa May has made the wrong choice. By cruelly snatching away these hot meals thousands of kids in Hertford and Stortford will lose out, and it will cost families £480 a year per kid. For a family with 2 kids that's almost £1,000 a year, a betrayal of working families and breaks the promise they made only two years ago at the last election.
There is of course another way. A different choice. My party, the Liberal Democrats would introduce free school meals for all primary school children, so that the benefits to kids' education currently limited to infants can be extended to all. That is a much better choice.
Liberal Democrats want to give all children a brighter future in a fairer Britain where people are decent to each other.
Letter on Care Costs
The Conservative Manifesto shows us that the nasty party is back. Theresa May is betraying the frail and elderly by snatching back their homes when they die. It is now crystal clear that the more you need, the more you pay with May and the Conservatives.
Many elderly people currently face the cruel situation of having to sell their home when they die to fund residential care home costs. Now the frail and elderly receiving care in their own home will face a 'Personal Death Tax' charged against their home. And the more help you need, the more Theresa May will snatch away when you die.
The cost of at-home care currently met by the state will now be clawed back from your home after death, hitting over half a million vulnerable people. It's clear that if the Conservatives get their way as you get old and frail, the costs are down to you and you alone.
That is the choice Theresa May has made. The Tories have failed to introduce a cost cap for care, despite committing to it in their 2015 manifesto. When we were in government we passed legislation to introduce the cap but the Tories have made a different choice. One in 10 pensioners at 65 will have future care needs over £100,000 - rather than capping this amount Theresa May wants to snatch back those care costs from their estates.
The Liberal Democrats will stand up to Theresa May's cold, mean-spirited Britain, protecting those that need the most help and fighting for more funding for our schools and hospitals.