The Whitehouse Consultancy, who provide secretariat services to The School and Nursery Milk Alliance (SNMA), have been successful in their campaign to secure continued funding for the School Milk Scheme in England for the academic year 2021/22.
There were fears that the scheme could be scrapped, but the Government’s commitment means children can now continue to enjoy access to subsidised healthy milk. Prior to the UK’s departure from the EU, all children aged 5 to 11 in UK schools were eligible to receive subsidised milk through the European School Milk Scheme. The European Union provided a subsidy of 2.4p per 1/3 pint, with an additional 1p top-up by the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). The Government has now agreed to cover the EU’s subsidy for academic year 2021/22, until a new system has been devised.
Welcome for the announcement
TV presenter and GP, Dr Hilary Jones, spokesperson for the SNMA, welcomed the news, saying: “Milk is a healthy and delicious drink for growing children, and has been shown to help address issues such as child dental decay and obesity. It is great news that school pupils across England will continue to enjoy milk and its nutritional benefits as they learn to eat healthily and look after themselves.”
A letter from the Government Environment Minister, Victoria Prentis MP, to Dr Jones, confirming the continued funding of the scheme, can be found here.
Whitehouse will continue to support the SNMA campaign for a future domestic replacement for the School Milk Scheme to give all Key Stage 1 children access to free milk every day and to continue subsidised milk for Key Stage 2 children. This will tackle child hunger and boost health and cognition, whilst supporting the livelihood of many dairy farmers by providing a much-needed market that doubles up as a social good.
Political consultancy
The Whitehouse team are experts in providing public affairs advice, political consultancy and political analysis to a wide range of clients engaging with health and social care providers and policy makers, not only in the United Kingdom, but also across the member states of the European Union and beyond. For more information, please contact our Chair, Chris Whitehouse, at chris.whitehouse@whitehousecomms.com.
