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Now there is such a thing as a free lunch

Having scrapped the "free lunch" for volunteers on benefits earlier this year the government has now reinstated it.

The government issued "guidance" earlier this year which said that volunteers who were paid the cost of lunch by the organisation they were volunteering for would have a consequent cut in benefits.

"The change will mean that in future, meals will be treated as an expense that volunteers can claim back. Previously, they were expected to meet the cost of meals out of their benefits."

This is an interesting example of something where the government thought the rules were one thing and everyone (all the voluntary organisations and volunteers) were doing something else.

It is not unique.

Note the parliamentary question asked in relation to this on Monday's blog entry.

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