Thread by @brayparry

#FreeSchoolMeals

A lot has been written on the morality of extending free school meals across holidays. Clearly the State has an obligation to ensure a dependent's well being is looked after. The idea that a child going hungry can be blamed solely on the parents is absurd. 1/

However, I've long since accepted that this Tory Party don't consider moral duties to be in the scope of Government. So, here is the economic case: 2/

The Government already accepts that, under certain circumstances, a family needs support for feeding children. The Government say that if a family is dependent on the welfare state, generally they are eligible for free school meals. 3/

Let us phrase that another way: The Government acknowledges that the welfare state is not designed to support a family, at least not in a way that maintains the family's health, so additional support is put on place to ensure the health of children, i.e. free school meals. 4/

Now, the fact that the support is in place in term time and support mechanism isn't extended into the holidays has always been absurd. Any working family will tell you that their costs go up in school holidays, not down. Hired childcare, reducing working hours, etc. 5/

So the current Government policy is that families get support in feeding their children in term time but not when costs increase in school holidays. Now, it won't be the case for every family but, inevitably, this will lead to some children going hungry. 6/

What is the consequence of children being hungry? Fortunately a lot of work has been done at looking at the long term impact of children growing up in poverty, e.g. Holter's "The economic costs of poverty in the United States: subsequent effects of children growing up poor" 7/

@rcbregman "Utopia for Realists" also discusses child poverty at length. In short, kids who grows up in poverty is much more likely to become dependent on the state. Not only that, the likely cost to the state will be greater than the cost of lifting that child our of poverty. 8/

Holzer's study (referenced earlier) estimated that the ongoing cost of child poverty was 3.8% of GDP. To put that in perspective, the Welsh Government's policy to extend free school meals to holidays from last winter until Easter 2021 will cost them 0.15% of GDP. 9/

It wouldn't be right for me to talk of the economic cost of poverty without addressing the #UBI shaped elephant in the room. Free school meals are a plaster, albeit an effective one. If we are to truly lift children out of poverty, UBI is the logical solution. 10/

Again, the economic case of simplifying the benefits system into a single, universal income would see enormous administrative cost savings. Furthermore, the economic and societal value of people can only be reached when their basic needs are met (see Maslow). #UBI does this. 11/

So, there is a clear economic case as well as a moral one. It is a shame that the Government has chosen to ignore both.

Well done to @MarcusRashford, @UKLabour, and all of the campaigners and MPs who supported it (including the 5 @Conservatives). Let's keep fighting. 12/