On Monday 23rd October in Parliament one of the the sessions that took place was organised by Caroline Ansell who is the Eastbourne MP. She began the session with a request “What recent assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the holiday activities and food programme.” and the Education Minister who responded was Gillian Keegan who is the MP for Chichester. She made an initial response and then Caroline responded another call and Gillian responded again.

Gillian Keegan: The holiday activities and food programme introduced by this Government is hugely important to families up and down the country and supported 685,000 children last summer. We know the positive impacts that these programmes are having on a range of issues, such as by improving attendance. One child in Stoke who attended a HAF programme run by the Kingsland CE Academy increased their school attendance by 32% and is no longer considered to be persistently absent. That is just one example of the wonderful work that HAF programmes do, and there is also strong evidence that they improve health, behaviour and confidence in children.

Caroline Ansell: I have seen at first hand just how brilliant the Government-backed holiday activities and food programmes are for children and young people and their families in Eastbourne. In one magical piece of feedback, a little girl at the Art House café sidled up to me and said, “One day I will own a place just like this,” and I have seen the same energy across the piece. Given that we are hoping that there is a connection between attendance and HAF uptake, what more can we do to provide and promote opportunities for children and young people with SEND, and also for the 11-plus and early teens?

Gillian Keegan: When it launched, HAF was the first summer camp for hundreds of thousands of children—70% had never experienced a holiday club before—and this summer, 4,000 children benefited in East Sussex. HAF is open to children from ages five to 16. Local authorities should meet the needs of all cohorts, including by offering programmes for older children and those with special educational needs. I urge all hon. Members to visit their local HAF over the Christmas recess; they really are heart-warming.

There was also another call from Sharon Hodgson who is the Labour MP for Washington and Sunderland West which can be obtained from here that was also responded by Gillian.