Bolton Council has ended its school-holiday food voucher scheme following the summer break, removing a recurring voucher distribution channel for eligible families. The council announced the closure on September 8 and published a withdrawal letter alongside its explanation. [S01]

The change concerns holiday support. Eligible children will continue to receive free school meals during term time, the council says. It does not announce an end to those meals or to every form of local food assistance.

Two distribution routes close

For school-aged children, the holiday vouchers had been administered through schools. Bolton Council issued vouchers directly to eligible families with children under five. Both groups are covered by the announcement that families will no longer receive support through this holiday voucher scheme. [S01]

The notice does not name a voucher platform, issuing partner or accepting retailer. It also gives no voucher value, affected household count, outstanding balance or supplier contract value. The closure therefore establishes a change in the council's delivery method, without quantifying the commercial exposure of any gift-card or voucher provider.

Council redirects support

Bolton links its decision to the end of the Household Support Fund and the replacement Crisis and Resilience Fund. Its published letter says the new funding criteria do not permit universal free-school-meal holiday voucher schemes. That is the council's explanation for its local decision; this announcement alone does not establish that every UK council has ended holiday vouchers. [S01]

The council says money previously spent on vouchers will support families through other projects and services. It lists local welfare provision, financial advice, support through community organisations and the Holiday Activities and Food programme among the continuing routes.

Those alternatives are described as separate assistance, rather than a replacement voucher with an equivalent face value. The notice does not quantify how much of the former voucher budget each service will receive.

For the voucher sector, the development is a programme closure tied to public funding choices. The September announcement concerns the end of Bolton's local distribution arrangements, while the national funding transition provides the background to that decision.