Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to his Department's consultation, eligibility for free school meals and the early years pupil premium under Universal Credit, which closed on 11 January 2018, what estimate he has made of the number of children who will be eligible for free school meals (a) if the proposals set out in the recent consultation are fully implemented and (b) five years after the proposals have been fully implemented.

We estimate that by 2022 around 50,000 more children will benefit from free school meals, compared to the previous benefits system. We have not forecast the size of the eligible cohort five years beyond then, due to the level of uncertainty involved. However, as set out in our consultation response, we are committed to reviewing the level of our threshold once Universal Credit rollout has been completed, to ensure that the most disadvantaged children continue to benefit from a free meal.