School meals: Almost 2,000 families are not receiving meal money

Almost 2,000 families entitled to free school meals are not receiving the money because they do not have a bank account.

While schools are closed, the Department of Education is paying £2.50 per day per child to families who are struggling financially.

But 1,812 families across Northern Ireland are missing out because they only have a Post Office account.

One of those is Ashley, whose 13-year-old son attends school in Co Antrim.

"It's £20 a week we're missing out on and it's a lot of money to me," she said.

"I'm on Universal Credit and my son is a teenager and trying to keep him fed is hard.

When she tried to find out why she wasn't receiving the money, she was left feeling rejected.

"They were so rude to me, it's like you don't exist.

"They told me to get a passport and open a bank account, but that isn't possible during the lockdown.

"It adds up to £80 a month which is a lot of money for me."

As the weeks go by that amount keeps growing.

Nicholas Quinn is a solicitor based in Newcastle, Co Down. This week he issued a judicial review pre-action letter to the Education Minister and Education Authority (EA) in relation to the Free School Meal Payment.

"We're asking if their eligibility criteria for this payment scheme has unwittingly created a situation where people with a Post Office account have been excluded," he said.

"This has created hardship for many families."

The EA has not commented but in a statement the Department of Education said: "As of 4 May, the Education Authority did not hold bank details for 1,812 payees.

"The EA has been contacting everyone for whom it doesn't hold bank details and up to 300 have been received since the last payment run.

"The provision of free school meals is about ensuring eligible children have access to a meal suitable as the main meal of the day while at school.

"The simplest, most effective way of ensuring this was to make payments directly to the vast majority of families in receipt of free school meals using the existing Education Authority Payments system designed for yearly uniform grant payments.

"We are working with the EA to ensure these direct payments can also be issued to families with no bank accounts."

In England vouchers have been issued instead of cash, but it has not been without problems.

Some families have taken the vouchers to supermarkets and they have failed to scan.