A PIONEERING school holidays programme in Bolton - which offer lunches and laughs - will continue for another three years.

Thousands of youngsters across the borough have benefitted from the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme since it first began last year.

And now town hall chiefs, after being told they will be receiving up to £1.44m annually from the government for the work, are looking to hire three permanent members of staff to co-ordinate future holiday programmes.

More than 6,000 children, young people and their families attended the last run for HAF, over the Christmas holidays

This included educational cooking sessions and three-course meals, followed by a pantomime in the Albert Halls, all delivered by local chefs under the guidance of Mike Harrison, the consultant chef for Bolton’s Food & Drink Festival.

Nearly 1,300 family hampers were distributed, via an existing link-up with Urban Outreach, as well as 3,500 home activity packs and online cooking sessions.

Paul Rankin, the borough's deputy director of children's services, told councillors in a report: "The sessions proved extremely popular, in particular with the most vulnerable, with groups from projects such as Fort Alice, targeted estates and community youth centres attending in the run-up to and just after the Christmas bank holiday weekend."

Nearly a quarter of those eligible for free school meals are said to have attended the festive cooking sessions, which came with a budget of around £300,000.

For future schemes, the Department for Education is requiring a dedicated co-ordinator, and two support staff, be appointed.

Cllr Anne Galloway, Bolton Council’s executive member for children’s services, is being asked to approve this move, alongside a provisional holidays programme for 2022 at a town hall meeting today.

“The Holiday Activities and Food programme was a great success in 2021 and I am pleased that the funding has been extended for another three years," said Cllr Galloway last night.

“I had the privilege of visiting some of the activity sessions last summer and at Christmas to see first-hand the positive impact the programme has had on children and young people across the borough.

“We will now look to build on this success as we deliver the HAF programme in 2022 and beyond."