Burnham Urged to Back Free Meals for All in National Food Service Plan

Andy Burnham is being urged to consider a taxpayer-funded National Food Service that would provide free meals through thousands of public dining centres and participating high street food businesses.

The proposal has received the backing of Lord O’Neill of Gatley, a senior economic adviser to Mr Burnham, according to The Telegraph.

Lord O’Neill, the former Goldman Sachs economist and Treasury minister, is among six experts who have endorsed Prosperity 2030, a wide-ranging economic reform programme developed by University College London’s Institute for Global Prosperity.

At the heart of the proposals is a National Food Service designed to deliver 1.83 billion meals annually, including year-round free school meals and at least one public diner in every postcode. Access would be universal, without means testing, under the report’s plans.

The scheme’s proposed backbone would be a network of around 9,500 Community Food Centres serving nutritious meals free at the point of use.

Existing restaurants, cafés, pubs and fast-food businesses could also participate voluntarily by offering a designated “NFS Meal of the Day” during off-peak periods.

Under the model, participating businesses would be reimbursed £2.50 for each adult meal and £2 for each child’s meal. Customers would be limited to one National Food Service meal per day, with entitlement ultimately monitored through digital identification.

Businesses named in the report as examples of potential participants include Greggs and Wetherspoons, although neither company is understood to have committed to the scheme.

The participating-venue element alone is projected to provide 165 million meals a year through up to 30,000 hospitality outlets, at an estimated annual cost of £470 million once fully established.

The wider Prosperity 2030 programme proposes 30 major reforms intended to reduce household living costs, restructure taxation and expand universally available public services.

UCL researchers estimate the overall package could reduce household costs by £51 billion a year, with the poorest fifth of households saving an average of £1,037 annually. The proposals would also include free local bus travel, the removal of standing charges for household energy and water, and the abolition of the television licence fee.

However, Lord O’Neill’s endorsement does not mean that the National Food Service has been adopted as official Burnham policy.

The proposals would require a democratic mandate and, according to UCL, would not begin until 2030 following a general election expected in 2029.

The discussion comes as Mr Burnham places food and agri-food alongside steel and defence as industries of strategic national importance, raising expectations that food security and resilience could occupy a more prominent position under any future government led by him.