The TV chef said Boris had to ‘nearly die and have a child’ before he decided to do the ‘right thing’
Jamie Oliver is ready to “fight” Liz Truss over her stance on free school meals for children, saying he has “no faith” in the new PM.
The chef has five children, three of whom are of school-going age, has previously successfully campaigned to make school dinners healthier, now he’s taking the fight to Truss.
The 47-year-old told BBC Radio’s Today Programme on Tuesday that he is now fighting two battles: for Brits to be healthier and for more schoolchildren to receive free lunches.
Oliver said he understood listeners would be thinking it is up to parents to “nourish their children”, but pointed out that currently only households earning under £7,400 a year are eligible for free meals.
He wants the plan to be extended to all households that receive Universal Credit (UC) – around 800,000 more children, on top of the 1.9million currently eligible, MailOnline suggested.
"We know in every way, shape and form that kids that have a lunch and a breakfast that's decent learn better, they do better"
Chef & campaigner Jamie Oliver tells @bbcnickrobinson why more children should get free school meals in England.
Full interview: https://t.co/G8dpEqaFI0 pic.twitter.com/UwErSQHCxB
— BBC Radio 4 Today (@BBCr4today) October 11, 2022
“We are talking about the most vulnerable kids,” Oliver told the programme, adding that even if a household is on benefits it does not mean their children will get free school meals.
Currently children of parents who are on UC 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.
Deputy Prime Minister Therese Coffey hit back at the Oliver’s suggestion, saying that people earning £40,000 can receive UC and taxpayers would be “surprised” if their children were entitled to free school meals.
Coffey said she was not aware of any “further changes that are being proposed to what happens today”.
Asked if that means she is against the extension, she said: “It is a matter for the Secretary of State for Education, who has responsibility for this policy area.
“I am just flagging that people in UC given it is a dynamic in-work and out-of-work benefit can actually be earning a considerable amount of money, which I think other taxpayers may be surprised to learn that someone on £35,000-£40,000 would all of a sudden become eligible for free school meals.”
Oliver was quizzed by the BBC about his relationship with former PM Boris Johnson, who had appeared to agree to his pleas for free schools dinners before he was replaced by Truss.
“He had to nearly die and have a child to put him in the frame of mind to do the right thing,” Oliver said, making light of the fact Johnson was hospitalised with covid at the start of the pandemic.
As for Truss, Oliver said he has “no faith” in her, saying:. “We’ve been tracking her and her views for six, seven years. She’s not going to change. She has a view, that’s it.”
Despite that, Oliver didn’t appear too bothered because Truss’ time in power will be “a ship that passes in the night”.
“If you can create an environment where every child has the ability to thrive at school’ it leads to better opportunities in the future,” Oliver claimed, adding that the main problem is “no one’s taken it seriously yet.”
Oliver said he was “up for the fight’ against Truss’ position on free school meals, explaining: “We owe it to every child. ‘It doesn’t affect my kids, does it? We’re talking about our kids.”
He went on: “Kindness needs to be injected through [the Conservatives] if they’ve got any chance.
“I don’t know if they’ve got it in them to show this kindness. Being productive and pushing forward of course – but at what cost?”
Responding to Oliver’s comments, the government has said, according to PA, that it was taking action to “protect people”, including from the energy price guarantee, businesses and the public sector from “unmanageable, unsustainable high costs” and “welcoming people in need” through the Ukrainian refugee schemes.
A spokesperson told the agency it was more important than ever for the threshold to open up and allow more children to get free lunches: “What we’ve got now is kids are coming in with nothing. They’ve got nothing, even in their lunchbox.”
He said there were around 800,000 children in England who should be getting free lunches but aren’t, “and the pressure on those parents is profound.”
Responding to the chef’s call for wider access to free school meals, the spokesperson 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.”
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