Petition Launched To Protect FSM Vouchers From Bristol City Council Cuts

A petition has been launched by a Bristol parent calling for Bristol City Council to reverse a decision it has made regarding Free School Meal (FSM) holiday vouchers.

The Client Relationships Team at Bristol City Council’s Trading With Schools, wrote to families at the end of October to inform parents and carers that it will stop providing families with vouchers after December 2026.

The council says that the FSM holiday supermarket vouchers are funded through a government grant, but the rules about how it can be spent has changed. This, they say, means that the council is not allowed to continue providing the vouchers ‘indefinitely’.

Instead, the council says it is ‘expected’ to target support to people in ‘financial hardship’ with an ‘assessment needed for any crisis support provided’.

Bristol City Council says: ‘Support for families in need will not stop. The council will still help with food and essentials when families are in financial hardship. Instead of providing universal support with holiday supermarket vouchers, the council will offer alternatives where appropriate or practical.’

The council says that after Christmas, holiday vouchers will not be issued for the rest of the financial year. A further decision will be made for the Easter 2027 school holidays.

But parents have been worried and anxious about the changes since they were announced.

Ruby Clift has set up a petition calling on the council to reverse its decision to withdraw FSM holiday vouchers after December and ‘commit’ to ensuring ‘direct’ and ‘accessible’ food support continues for low-income families.

Ruby said families were ‘deeply concerned’ with the change at a time of ‘escalating cost-of-living pressures’.

She called the decision ‘unacceptable and must be reconsidered’.

One of the issues that the council has proposed is the The Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme.

But, this isn’t ‘accessible’ to every child she says.

“Some children, including some disabled and autistic children, cannot attend organised holiday activities. These families should not lose access to food support simply because their children cannot participate in HA.”

The petition also calls for Bristol City Council to be ‘transparent’ about its decision which needs ‘clear justification and public accountability’.

It reads: ‘Bristol City Council has attributed the withdrawal of vouchers to changes in government funding rules.

‘However, government guidance indicates that local authorities retain discretion to support families with food costs during school holidays, including through vouchers.

‘Although funding arrangements have changed, there is no blanket government prohibition on providing holiday food vouchers.

‘The withdrawal therefore appears to be a local policy choice rather than an unavoidable requirement imposed by central government.’

‘We recognise that councils face difficult financial decisions. However, withdrawing food support from children living in poverty, particularly during a cost-of-living crisis, is a decision that demands clear justification and public accountability.’

You can sign the petition here

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