Diane Abbott forces rethink over nursery milk

07 Sep 2012
Following a campaign by Diane Abbott MP, Labour’s shadow public health minister, the
government has been forced to extend the deadline for the consultation on the
Nursery Milk Scheme.  Diane Abbott MP,
Labour’s Shadow public health minister, wrote to the new Secretary of State for
Health on Tuesday, and the government has today conceded defeat on the issue.

Originally, the consultation had been set up to run during the school holidays so that no
schools could give a response.  Due to
pressure from the Labour Party, campaign groups and schools, the government has
been forced to extend the deadline to Tuesday 23 October 2012.

Diane Abbott MP said:
‘There’s been a lot of anger that the government tried to shut children, parents and
schools up by deliberately running the consultation during the school holidays,
but they’ve been forced to think again. The government needs to understand that
if they want to snatch milk away from nurseries that they’ve got a fight on
their hands.’

New figures show that one of the main reasons the costs of the scheme has gone up
is because more children are receiving the milk.  The government is refusing to guarantee that
no children will miss out of the milk.


1)    The Written Ministerial Statement confirming the extension of the deadline is here:

http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-vote-office/September_2012/06-09-12/4.Health-Nurserymilkconsultation.pdf

2)      Return of the milk snatcher: Cam
cuts funds for free kids' milk - just like idol Maggie: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/david-cameron-milk-snatcher-20m-901426


 

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