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CONTROVERSIAL EAST HAM MP Stephen Timms took time out to visit a holiday club at a local primary school last week. The Club was part of Sainsbury’s Active Kids scheme, which supports activities in 70 locations across the UK.
The Active Kids Clubs try to give 5-15 year olds the opportunity to stay active and healthy over the summer holidays. The Clubs run at a cost to parents which Sainsbury’s believe is “affordable”. At £7.50 a day (which includes activities, lunch and snacks), that would only be “affordable” to working parents – potentially creating a divide in the community between children whose parents have jobs and children whose parents are not in paid employment.
Stephen Timms MP was at the scheme running at Sandringham Primary School in Forest Gate, where activities on offer include cricket, gymnastics and dance, as well as arts and crafts. The Labour MP is said to have joined in a number of the activites on offer. He said, “It’s great to see the holiday club in action. Finding affordable childcare is often a huge weight off parents’ shoulders, and it’s wonderful to see kids so engaged with a range of activities and opportunities over their summer break.”
Judith Batchelar, Director of Sainsbury’s Brand, said, “Sainsbury’s Active Kids holiday clubs fill a much-needed gap, providing children with access to a wealth of activities this summer to encourage them to stay healthy and have fun. We’re committed to encouraging all our customers to live healthier lives and the continued roll-out of the Active Kids holiday clubs is a key step to improving the health of the younger generation.”
Stephen Timms served as a minister under the Blair and Brown Governments. He nominated Liz Kendall MP – widely dubbed the “Blairite” candidate in the 2015 Labour Party leadership contest which was won by Jeremy Corbyn. He went on to support losing “Blairite” Owen Smith MP in the following year’s contest.
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