Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Department is taking to support Walsall Council and local voluntary, community and private-sector providers during the transition to funding the Holiday Activities and Food programme through the Children, Families and Youth Grant; and what assessment has been made of the potential impact of that transition on providers’ ability to plan provision, retain staff and offer places across successive school holidays.

Over £600 million has been confirmed for the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme over the three financial years from 2026/27. HAF funding is now provided through the Children, Families and Youth Grant, ringfenced to protect programme spend. Local authority allocations, which continue to be calculated using free school meal (FSM) data, have been confirmed for the 3-year settlement, providing local authorities with greater certainty and supporting planning and investment.

HAF remains a targeted programme to support children facing the greatest disadvantage. Local authorities have flexibility to use a proportion of their allocation to support other children who may benefit from the programme in line with local needs and priorities.

From September 2026, FSM eligibility expanded to include all households in receipt of Universal Credit, creating two categories of FSM: targeted and expanded. HAF eligibility remains aligned with the targeted FSM threshold. The department is monitoring implementation of these changes and will continue to gather relevant data. No definitive constituency level estimates currently exist due to unavailability of the necessary data. We will continue to work with local authorities to monitor HAF participation, engage eligible families and support delivery. The government has also committed to a full evaluation of FSM expansion, which will consider its impact and uptake.