Asked by: Baroness Walmsley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risks of expanding free school meals in September before updated school food standards are implemented and enforced.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are extending free school meals to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026. This means over half a million more disadvantaged children will be receiving the support they need in school to be healthy and get the most out of their education.
These meals must be compliant with the School Food Standards. To ensure they support our work to create the healthiest generation of children in history, we are revising the School Food Standards and are engaging with stakeholders.
Asked by: Baroness Walmsley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that updated school food standards are implemented before the planned expansion of free breakfast clubs in April and free school meals in September.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department is revising the School Food Standards and is engaging with stakeholders to ensure they support our work to create the healthiest generation of children in history.
We want to gather a broad spectrum of perspectives and to achieve this, we intend to consult on these revisions. As we prepare to consult, we are continuing to gather insights from our wider engagement, including a pilot
Further details on timelines for the revisions and the consultation will be available in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Walmsley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made on updating school food standards; and when they expect the revised standards to be published.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department is revising the School Food Standards and is engaging with stakeholders to ensure they support our work to create the healthiest generation of children in history.
We want to gather a broad spectrum of perspectives and to achieve this, we intend to consult on these revisions. As we prepare to consult, we are continuing to gather insights from our wider engagement, including a pilot
Further details on timelines for the revisions and the consultation will be available in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Walmsley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to publish a draft updated school food standards for public consultation; and if so, on what date.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department is revising the School Food Standards and is engaging with stakeholders to ensure they support our work to create the healthiest generation of children in history.
We want to gather a broad spectrum of perspectives and to achieve this, we intend to consult on these revisions. As we prepare to consult, we are continuing to gather insights from our wider engagement, including a pilot
Further details on timelines for the revisions and the consultation will be available in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Walmsley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to change the eligibility for Pupil Premium Plus funding to include children adopted from overseas.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The government is currently considering the application of pupil premium plus to children adopted from care outside England and Wales and have not set a timetable for any changes. However, this should not prevent schools from providing full support to these children now, including, for example, the expertise of both designated teacher and virtual school heads, whose duties to promote the educational attainment of previously looked-after children include children adopted from care from abroad.