South West Norfolk MP Terry Jermy discusses pension credit and children’s breakfast clubs

In his latest column, MP Terry Jermy discusses Labour initiatives…

This week in parliament I asked the education secretary about Labour’s plans to triple the funding for breakfast clubs for primary schools.

The breakfast clubs form part of Labour’s mission to break the unfair link between background and opportunity, delivering change that can be felt by families.

As a former youth worker and a former school governor, I know these plans will make a huge difference to children, families and schools by removing barriers to opportunity and helping children learn. This will help make sure no child starts school hungry and will help families with the cost of childcare around the school day, to help keep money in people’s pockets.

The breakfast club programme follows Labour’s budget to fix the foundations and deliver change. The budget tripled investment in breakfast clubs to over £33million for 2025-26.

I’ve visited a number of local schools since being elected as MP for South West Norfolk including schools in Shouldham, Stoke Ferry and Downham and have appreciated staff at these schools sharing their views on a range of issues. I have now written to every school in the constituency and urged them to apply to become one of 750 early adopters in the Government’s free breakfast clubs rollout, with clubs set to launch in April. Schools across South West Norfolk have until December 20 to apply for the scheme.

In other news, last week on Small Business Saturday I visited Kenninghall Village Hall where they were hosting a Christmas Fair. It was wonderful to see so many people with a real passion for their craft and sharing what they had made. This visit also coincided with my constituency surgery, my seventh surgery since the election and the first in the very south of the constituency. I also went to Thetford market - a regular spot for me which never disappoints. Small Business Saturday is an important way of supporting and showcasing our excellent local small businesses. They are the lifeblood of our communities and make where we live so special.

I look forward to holding my latest constituency surgery on Saturday from 10am-2pm at Swaffham Community Centre. This is a special winter surgery to support people with pension credit sign-up as well as any other advice and support needed. The deadline for signing up for pension credit and receiving this year’s winter fuel allowance is December 21 so the team and I are making a big push to try and ensure everyone who is eligible to receive this support applies in good time. Should anyone need support but are unable to attend then I’d encourage them to make contact with my team via terry.jermy.mp@parliament.uk