Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate his Department has made from the October 2020 schools census of the number of children from families with no recourse to public funds accessing free school meals.
We are continuing to work with departments across government to evaluate access to free school meals for families with no recourse to public funds. In the meantime, the temporary extension of eligibility will continue until a decision on long-term eligibility is made.
Once the review is complete, we will update our guidance accordingly. Our current guidance regarding the extension can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance/guidance-for-the-temporary-extension-of-free-school-meals-eligibility-to-nrpf-groups.
At present, data is not available regarding the take-up of free school meals from children from families with no recourse to public funds during the temporary extension.