PLANS to provide children from low-income Wokingham families with food vouchers during the Christmas and February half term holidays are set for approval.

Wokingham Borough Council wants to use £100,000 of funding from the government’s Covid Winter Grant Scheme to provide vouchers for the 2,166 Wokingham children who currently receive free school meals.

The Conservative-run council is expected to approve the plans when it votes at a meeting on Wednesday, December 2.

Under the current plans, each child will receive a £15 voucher each week during the two-week Christmas holiday and the one-week half-term break.

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Schools would distribute the vouchers, that can be used to buy food and groceries at 10 local supermarkets.

There are also plans to use £5,000 to support Wokingham care leavers and help them cover the cost of food and bills during the winter months.

Another £104,000 is due to be used by the Wokingham Citizen’s Advice Bureau to help struggling families.

The council will receive a total of £208,703 from the government’s £170 million Covid Winter Grant Scheme.

In October, MPs voted against the food vouchers being continued through the half-term and Christmas holidays, but Boris Johnson’s government u-turned after a public outcry and a campaign run by footballer Marcus Rashford.

A council report states: “There is a risk, if the decision is delayed, that families and individuals in need will not receive the support they urgently need.

“Due to the nature of the rapidly developing situation due to Covid-19 restrictions and the resultant uncertainty and hardship for families and individuals, the government is clear that local authorities need to be in a position to be able to begin rolling out support under this scheme as early as possible in December 2020.

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“Once approval to distribute the funds as proposed is in place, work will begin immediately to establish processes to ensure that those who are in need receive support as quickly as possible, resulting in significant reduction of hardship for families and others struggling during the winter months of the Covid crisis.

“The information gathered through this scheme will give the council rich intelligence about the levels of need in the borough which will support our response to poverty.

“The scheme will also enable the council to signpost families in need to other available resources.”