I fully appreciate a lot of people feel strongly about the issue of free school meals; many families across the country are struggling to get by and no child should have to go hungry. Equally, every child should have the opportunity to meet their potential regardless of their background or where they’re from. This includes access to regular, healthy and balanced meals throughout the day to ensure they are able to thrive in the classroom and, hopefully, encourage healthy and stable eating habits for life.
Because the previous Conservative Government widened eligibility, one in three children could get a free school meal in 2024, compared with one in six in 2010. That was even though 600,000 fewer children were growing up in workless households and that the proportion of people on low pay had halved. I hope the Government will commit to maintaining the current levels of eligibility.
Under the last Government, the Department for Education spent over £1 billion each year on free school meals, including through the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme and school breakfast clubs. This included around £600 million on the Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM) policy.
It is equally important, however, that policies meant to help children and families, such as free school meals, have the intended impact and reach those who need them most. Extending free school meals to all pupils, regardless of their family’s circumstances would mean money not being spent on the most disadvantaged pupils and instead going towards those who are already being provided with meals. We need better-targeted mechanisms to support children and families in the most need of help, instead of relying on indirect or substitute ones.
All infants (those in reception, year 1 and year 2) are eligible for free school meals. In 2014, we extended free school meal eligibility so that further education students can access them and in 2018, we introduced new eligibility criteria to support the transition to Universal Credit. These changes enabled us to help more children under the new system. We have also permanently extended eligibility for free school meals to children from families with No Recourse to Public Funds (subject to income thresholds).
Practically, this means that 1.25m children in reception, years 1 and 2 receive Free Schools Meals, and 1.9m other pupils in all year groups because of household benefits. That’s around 37.5% of the total pupil population.
I would like to see continued support for schools and children so that they are able to benefit from the national breakfast club programme which has created or improved breakfast clubs in up to 2,450 schools located in the most disadvantaged parts of the country. I am pleased that up to £38 million has been invested into the National School Breakfast Programme, using funds from Soft Drinks Industry Levy revenues supporting 280,000 children in some of the most deprived areas of England.
As your representative in Parliament, I will continue to hold the Government to account to ensure that adequate funding is provided to ensure every child within my constituency and across the country has regular, healthy meals.
