UPDATE: There is still some confusion around the date, time and details of this debate, with the Commons Library now suggesting the discussion will take place on Wednesday 26 May, from 2.30pm, and will be hosted by Catherine West MP.

A petition urging the government to end child food poverty in the UK will be debated in Parliament, after it gathered more than one million signatures.

The Parliament UK petition, launched by footballer and child welfare campaigner Marcus Rashford, asks the government to implement three recommendations from the National Food Strategy to expand access to Free School Meals; provide meals and activities during school holidays; and increase the value of and expand the Healthy Start scheme.

The petition forms part of Rashford’s End Child Food Poverty campaign, which aims to ensure that no child in Britain goes without food.

The House of Commons debate, ‘Support for children entitled to free school meals’, has been tabled by Labour politician Catherine West MP who is Member of Parliament for Hornsey and Wood Green, and is scheduled for Wednesday 26 May, 2021 from 2.30pm.

The House of Commons library will publish a briefing paper for the event as soon as it is available, which can be accessed here.

The debate can be watched on the UK Parliament YouTube channel.