Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of barriers to disabled children accessing free school meals.

The provision of Free School Meals (FSM) to children from households that are out of work or on low income is important to the Government. The latest statistics indicate that 39.7% of pupils with an Education, Health and Care plan, and 36.4% of pupils with special educational needs support, were eligible for FSM in 2022. More information is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/special-educational-needs-in-england/2021-22.

The Government spends around £1.5 billion per year so children have access to nutritious food during the school day and in the holidays. Around 1.9 million disadvantaged pupils are eligible for FSM, as well as an additional 1.25 million infants who receive a free meal under the universal infant FSM policy. Together, this provides support to over one third of all pupils in schools.