Ensuring every child has enough to eat at school is a moral imperative. It is also a benefit to wider society. A PwC study, seen exclusively by the Evening Standard and our sister paper, The Independent, finds that extending free school meals to all children in poverty in England would amount to economic benefits of £2.5 billion over 20 years.
The reasoning is simple. The positive impacts for the individual are substantial — greater education attainment, stronger mental and physical health, as well as productivity improvements. This drives the economic benefit, meaning that for every £1 invested by Government, £1.38 would be returned.
At present, thresholds and differences between local authorities can lead to iniquitous outcomes. A headteacher describes one real-life example: two Hackney schools are situated within a few miles of the other, with similar levels of disadvantage, but only one receives free school meals because it sits on the border with Islington, one of four London boroughs that provide free school meals to all primary pupils. Students at that school receive the benefit, but due to financial pressures, those further away do not.
This situation lays bare the unfairness and randomness inherent in the current framework. Hungry children struggle to learn. The Government should step in to ensure all children can enjoy a decent meal at school.
Challenge for the Met
Combating violence against women and girls — and the pervasive sense that many women do not feel safe walking the streets of London — must be a top priority for the new Met Commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley.
In an interview in today’s Standard, Sir Mark set out a new approach to tackling these crimes, and how Scotland Yard will change its approach to try to put more rapists and sex offenders behind bars.
For too long, many women have felt discouraged from coming forward due to fears over how they would be treated by police and the wider criminal justice system. Sir Mark committed to a more “predator-centric” model when investigating sex crimes, with a greater focus on officers finding holes in offenders’ accounts than that of the victim.
Cleaning up the Met from the inside is vital. The independent report into Charing Cross police station, which uncovered a culture of misogyny, racism, homophobia and bullying, made that much clear. At the same time, it is welcome that the Met will also change its approach to policing sex crimes, cracking down on predators and supporting more women through the painful and arduous process of securing justice.
Stamp of approval
The ultimate accolade for the brilliant Aardman studios is arriving with our post shortly: a set of stamps featuring their finest creations — Wallace and Gromit, the little clay figure called Morph, Shaun the Sheep and other favourites.
It is a tribute to the genius of the studio’s animators over more than 40 years — Morph was created in 1976 — and an occasion for the middle-aged to wallow in nostalgia as the young to catch up.
As a Royal Mail spokesman put it, these stamps will add joy to an envelope, always supposing it is not a gas bill.
