Concerns
over needy children as milk
targeted

Children aged under five currently receive free milk in the city as part of one of the oldest welfare support programmes in the country, which has been running since the 1940s.

The scheme reimburses childcare providers for the full cost of buying any milk they provide for children. But last month the Government launched a consultation over plans to “modernise” the scheme that could see a cap on the highest price that can be claimed, or childcare providers being given a monthly payment equal to the amount of milk required at a set average market price per pint.

Hull North Labour MP Diana Johnson said she was now greatly concerned after trying, and failing, to gain reassurances over the delivery of the scheme in a Commons debate last week.

She said: “The free Nursery Milk Scheme has never been more important in Hull at a time when we are seeing a notable increase in poverty, debt and long-term unemployment. You only have to see the expansion of food banks and loan shark activity in Hull to see what is happening under the coalition.

“It was therefore worrying that Health Ministers wouldn’t give MPs a guarantee that all those children who currently receive free milk would still do so following the coalition’s review of the Nursery Milk Scheme.

“Yet again, the life chances of the least well-off in the poorest areas look like being squeezed by coalition cost-cutting measures aimed at addressing a deficit caused by the misdeeds of bankers and the wealthiest.”

According to the Department of Health, the scheme currently funds free milk for around 1.5 million children under five in 55,000 childcare settings throughout the UK.

The Government says it is committed to providing free milk, but said in recent years the prices claimed for milk purchased under the initiative have risen significantly, with a corresponding increase in the total cost of the project.

The city council could not say how many children in Hull were benefitting from the programme, but Coun Rilba Jones, portfolio holder for health and equalities, said many families were already living on the breadline and any measures to reduce current levels of access to free milk would hit the most vulnerable hard.

“I’m aware that many families in the city are relying on food banks for feeding their children so to stop access to this scheme would undoubtedly be to the detriment of people who are already living in deprived circumstances,” she said.

Public Health Minister Anne Milton said: “Milk has many benefits to children’s health and is important for their development — we are committed to continuing to provide free milk for all under-fives.

“But the current scheme has not changed operationally since it began and costs have ballooned. In four years, costs have jumped from £27m in 2007 to a staggering £53m in 2011.

“Estimates show that modernising how the scheme operates could save as much as £20m each year.

“Everyone is encouraged to take part in this consultation and share their views on the proposed changes.”

The consultation is open until September 11 and the department is inviting comments from any interested parties.