Footballer Marcus Rashford fights for free school meals

[cyril_smear]

Some of these pics on social media must be fake, surely?
This one, for example:
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copied from fb



You may have seen on social media some of the “hampers” that outsourced private providers have supplied for children on Free School Meals.

This top photo is one particularly bad example the bottom photo is what Labour-run Leeds City Council’s in-house service Catering Leeds provide.

We get £11.70 per child for this, to provide a replacement for 5 days worth of school meals.

Privatisation and outsourcing doesn’t work.

 

[cyril_smear]

Also, the entitlement to free lunches seems to be for everyone who gets infant universal school meals (like me as I have a 6 year old) as well as those who get income based free school meals. When the school was offering hampers of food you needed to go and collect I didn't ask for one as we don't need it, but if they're offering vouchers I will take one. I wonder if the whole hamper idea was due to them wanting to keep the take up as low as possible.

You could have collected it(if it was convenient) and gifted it to somebody.

 

[teuchter]

How come some councils are doing it in house and some aren't? Does each council decide whether it's going to outsource or not?

 

[Artaxerxes]

How come some councils are doing it in house and some aren't? Does each council decide whether it's going to outsource or not?

Assume it's based on what budgets been cut or where they can grift cash from.

 

[killer b]

Probably to do with whether the schools in question are still under local authority control or academies too I'd imagine.

 

[FridgeMagnet]

You'd think it would be cheaper to give a kid a whole onion that to pay someone to chop onions into quarters and wrap them in cling film. Similarly opening tins of tuna and decanting them into cash bags.

Who even knows though. Nothing's so awful that it's beneath the standards of outsourcing companies.

The brutality is the point.

 

[teuchter]

Assume it's based on what budgets been cut or where they can grift cash from.

The screenshot above suggests that Leeds council gets paid per meal produced, same as the private suppliers.

 

[killer b]

The screenshot above suggests that Leeds council gets paid per meal produced, same as the private suppliers.

the way this stuff operates varies by council - some still have in-house catering, some have farmed it all out altogether, some have innovative part-private-part-public stuff going on, and sell these services to other councils. The budget per child will come from the DfE and will be the same whatever though.

 

[SpookyFrank]

The brutality is the point.

This is what makes me think it actually could be real. It's a hell of a message to give to a person with a still-unformed idea of themselves, the world and their place in it: 'you're not worth a whole carrot'.

 

[cyril_smear]

The screenshot above suggests that Leeds council gets paid per meal produced, same as the private suppliers.

The top portion of that screenshot that I posted is clearly not real.

I’m still yet to see where it was posted originally.

 

[purenarcotic]

This is what makes me think it actually could be real. It's a hell of a message to give to a person with a still-unformed idea of themselves, the world and their place in it: 'you're not worth a whole carrot'.

Literally just said that to my OH. What a way to highlight that you’re seen as shit and unimportant in the world. Every child matters... except of course they don’t.

 

[teuchter]

the way this stuff operates varies by council - some still have in-house catering, some have farmed it all out altogether, some have innovative part-private-part-public stuff going on, and sell these services to other councils. The budget per child will come from the DfE and will be the same whatever though.

It seems to me that the councils are failing in a big way if they are outsourcing stuff and then not checking that what gets delivered actually meets the spec. No excuse for the contractor to try and under-deliver but that's what's going to happen if no one's keeping an eye on them.

Whether it's outsourced or not is a bit of a red herring, if it's the case that each council manages the process either way.

 

[killer b]

It seems to me that the councils are failing in a big way if they are outsourcing stuff and then not checking that what gets delivered actually meets the spec. No excuse for the contractor to try and under-deliver but that's what's going to happen if no one's keeping an eye on them.

Whether it's outsourced or not is a bit of a red herring, if it's the case that each council manages the process either way.

There could be a lot of reasons why this hasn't been managed well by some councils - lots of schools (academies and free schools - a huge chunk of the school estate) will have their own direct contracts and it won't go through the councils at all.

Plus this is a new and hastily organised service, arranged at a week's notice in the middle of a pandemic - staff will be off sick, isolating, working from home.

 

[trashpony]

The are the contractor for school meals. They know what the legal requirements are. It is fair to expect that they would have provided ‘hampers’ (that sounds like they’re full of lovely treats, not half a can of tuna in a coin bag) which were in accordance with government guidelines.

I haven’t read the whole long thread so apologies if this has been posted but this is what is supposed to be included.

 

[Humberto]

I tell you, they give their dogs steak, and hungry children dry tuna flakes in a coin bag, and think themselves jolly good chaps for doing so.

 

[spanglechick]

I do wonder if the one with a half tomato, and tuna in a coin bag is actually an honest attempt by the recipient to show a “per child” picture, because they have two kids? Not because I’m surprised by the content or volume of food, but just because the tomato would likely look totally mashed if it had been sent out sliced open. Also coin bags might well be what you end up resorting to if you’re skint, whereas they do seem more unlikely to have been used anywhere that’s doing loads of these packages.

 

[Humberto]

There's probably something in that Spanglechick tbh.

 

[Badgers]

The whole thing is shit.

There are logistical costs and other overheads to factor in. However the company have bulk buying trade discounts so using the 'cost at Asda' comparison is also a bit vague.

If I was buying potatoes for 5,000 people the cost would be a damn sight lower.

 

[tufty79]

I opened tenders for suppliers for school meals a million years ago in my procuring council admin job. I think one went to The Potato Man ™


Can't remember if it was open or closed or competitive or (other) tender.


But yeah, this doesn't all sound like best value is being applied...

 

[Badgers]

What would happen if I volunteered to do shopping for a vulnerable person and after being given £30 from them to do it I bought £5 worth of shite and pocketed the rest?

Hopefully I’d be arrested and charged with theft.

 

[Louis MacNeice]

What would happen if I volunteered to do shopping for a vulnerable person and after being given £30 from them to do it I bought £5 worth of shite and pocketed the rest?

Hopefully I’d be arrested and charged with theft.

Depends how many people you did it to.

Just the one and yep it's theft; do it to a few thousand and the rules seem to change.

Cheers - Louis MacNeice

 

[redsquirrel]

Whether it's outsourced or not is a bit of a red herring, if it's the case that each council manages the process either way.

Of course what we need is an OfMeal to ensure good standards and fairness, all those other regulators of former public services do such good job.

 

[SpookyFrank]

What would happen if I volunteered to do shopping for a vulnerable person and after being given £30 from them to do it I bought £5 worth of shite and pocketed the rest?

Hopefully I’d be arrested and charged with theft.

5 quid is the figure getting tossed around but it's clearly a lot less than thar in many cases.

 

[MickiQ]

What would happen if I volunteered to do shopping for a vulnerable person and after being given £30 from them to do it I bought £5 worth of shite and pocketed the rest?

Hopefully I’d be arrested and charged with theft.

Donate a £5 of it to the local Conservative Club

 

[Lord Camomile]

Donate a £5 of it to the local Conservative Club

I fear they'd miss the irony and just see more free cash

 

[bimble]

Does this mean the government is abandoning the boxes and just giving vouchers instead? Think so. U turn number 789 then

 

[editor]

I know he's been helped and supported by an army of people and his achievements have only been made possible by the hard work and campaigning of the past, but how much worse would things be for parents if Rashford hadn't got involved? It's hard to think of any single person who achieved such incredible results so quickly.

 

[Treacle Toes]

 

[cybershot]

Clever from Johnson this. By using Rashford like this he pretty much ensures that any Labour criticism is ignored by media and makes them look ineffective and irrelevant.

 

[Espresso]

Clever from Johnson this. By using Rashford like this he pretty much ensures that any Labour criticism is ignored by media and makes them look ineffective and irrelevant.

Yup, that's exactly what he's doing.

It's just shown on the news that that Johnson said in the House of Commons to Starmer, that Rashford is doing a better job of holding the government to account than Starmer is.