Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make a comparative assessment of the eligibility criteria for access to free school meals (a) on 9 February 2022 and (b) planned for the end of 2024 in each (i) nation of the United Kingdom and (ii) local authority; and if she will make it her policy to expand eligibility for free school meals in England to all children who have a parent on Universal Credit; and if she will make a statement.

Education, including free school meals (FSM), is a devolved matter. This response outlines the information for England only.

The latest published statistics from the Department are available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics. The figures show that around 1.9 million pupils are claiming FSM. This equates to 22.5% of all pupils, up from 20.8% in 2021. Together with a further 1.25 million infants supported through the Universal Infant Free School Meal policy, over one third of school children are now provided with FSM, at a cost of over £1 billion a year. The Department currently has protections in place, ensuring that eligible pupils keep their FSM entitlement even if their household circumstances change. The end date for these has now been extended until March 2025.

The Department’s current eligibility threshold enables children in low income households to benefit from FSM, while remaining affordable and deliverable for schools. The Department will continue to keep FSM eligibility under review to ensure that support is targeted at those who most need them, as well as continuing to monitor current issues that affect disadvantaged families, such as the rising cost of living.