Written Question
Monday 5th February 2018
Asked by:
Ruth George (Labour - High Peak)
Question
to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children will be eligible for free school meals as a result of the protections for entitlement under the existing arrangements.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
As explained in our consultation paper, we have recently brought forward proposals to update the temporary criteria for free school meals eligibility under universal credit. In setting these new criteria, we are ensuring that the new arrangements are fair, consistent and simple to deliver. The consultation paper is available to view here: https://consult.education.gov.uk/healthy-pupil-unit/fsm/.
Last year, around 1.1 million of the most disadvantaged children were eligible for and claiming a free meal. As a result of our proposed criteria, we estimate that by 2022 around 50,000 more children will benefit from a free school meal compared to the previous benefits system.
In addition, we will also provide generous protections to ensure that no child will lose out as a result of these changes up until the end of the rollout of universal credit. This is part of ongoing policy development.
Written Question
Friday 2nd February 2018
Asked by:
Ruth George (Labour - High Peak)
Question
to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will estimate how many children will become eligible for free school meals in each of the next 5 years under (a) proposal in the Eligibility for free school meals and the early years pupil premium under Universal Credit government consultation and (b) existing rules of eligibility.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
As explained in our consultation paper, we have recently brought forward proposals to update the temporary criteria for free school meals eligibility under Universal Credit. In setting these new criteria, we are ensuring that the new arrangements are fair, consistent and simple to deliver. The consultation paper is available to view here: https://consult.education.gov.uk/healthy-pupil-unit/fsm/.
Free school meals are targeted at children who need them most. If all children in families receiving Universal Credit were to become eligible for a free school meal this would result in around half of school age pupils becoming eligible compared to a current rate of around 14%.
Under our proposed new criteria, we estimate that by 2022 around 50,000 more children will benefit from a free school meal compared to the previous benefits system.
Written Question
Friday 2nd February 2018
Asked by:
Ruth George (Labour - High Peak)
Question
to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many families would be better off reducing their income to less than £7,400 a year to secure free school meals.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The information requested is not held centrally. The government recently held a public consultation on setting a net earnings threshold under universal credit to determine a household’s eligibility for free school meals. Under our proposals, we estimate that by 2022 around 50,000 more children will benefit from a free school meal compared to the previous benefits system.
Speech in Commons Chamber - Mon 29 Jan 2018
Oral Answers to Questions
"My county of Derbyshire is about to cut almost £3 million from children’s services, including almost £400,000 from special needs and disability services to support children. Schools are already struggling, so how on earth will these cuts help, and how will the Government ensure that support for special needs children …..."Ruth George - View Speech
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Speech in Westminster Hall - Tue 19 Dec 2017
Childcare for Fostered Children
"My hon. Friend is making an excellent argument. Does she agree that one of the serious problems with the exclusion of foster children from the scheme is the impact on relationships within a family, between the foster child and the other children? The foster child may get to spend more …..."Ruth George - View Speech
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Speech in Westminster Hall - Thu 12 Oct 2017
Free Childcare
"I beg to move,
That this House has considered the effects of 30 hours free childcare.
I am here now, Mr Rosindell—thank you.
We are all here because we want all our children to get the best possible start in life and to be as ready for school as they …..."Ruth George - View Speech
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Speech in Westminster Hall - Thu 12 Oct 2017
Free Childcare
"I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention.
A survey of local authorities by the Family and Childcare Trust in February 2017 found that only a third thought that there would be enough childcare for three and four-year-olds using the 30-hour offer, while a third did not know whether there …..."Ruth George - View Speech
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Speech in Westminster Hall - Thu 12 Oct 2017
Free Childcare
"I accept that a study was done in 2015. That was before we knew the outcome of business rate increases and before we had seen the impact on the sector of the national living wage policy and of auto-enrolment. All those things significantly increased the cost of nursery provision and …..."Ruth George - View Speech
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Speech in Westminster Hall - Thu 12 Oct 2017
Free Childcare
"In 2015, when those figures were done, they may well have been up to standard, but they do not represent the increase in costs that nurseries have seen in the past two years and certainly will see even more with the increase in auto-enrolment costs and the increase in the …..."Ruth George - View Speech
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Speech in Westminster Hall - Thu 12 Oct 2017
Free Childcare
"I am afraid I have copies of the emails from the providers in York and Scarborough that were sent during the pilot. They wrote to the Minister about their concerns to do with the pilot that they were participating in, so there seems to be a discrepancy there.
Despite numerous …..."Ruth George - View Speech
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