Conservatives on Herts County Council have blocked a Liberal Democrat proposal to provide food vouchers in the summer holidays for children who get free school meals during term time.

The council is providing the vouchers in the Easter holidays and May half term but refuses to do so for the rest of the year.

The cost could easily have been covered from an extra £5.5 million of unexpected income which the council is planning to put into an “Inequalities Reserve”. Providing food for children whose parents cannot afford it seems like one of the best uses for an inequalities reserve but it seems that the Conservatives would rather keep it in the council’s bank for a rainy day.