Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 March 2023 to Question 165189 on Free School Meals, for what reason her Department has not made an estimate of the take-up rate for free school meals since December 2013; and if she will make a statement.

The latest published statistics show that over 2 million pupils are claiming free school meals (FSM). This equates to 23.8% of all pupils, up from 22.5% in 2022. Together with almost 1.3 million infants supported through the Universal Infant Free School Meal (UIFSM) policy, over one third of pupils receive a free meal in school.

The Department does not routinely collect information on the proportion of pupils that may be entitled to a FSM but do not make a claim.

The Department’s primary interest is ensuring that all pupils who are entitled to free meals take this offer up. We also want to make it as simple as possible for schools and Local Authorities to determine eligibility. The Department provides an Eligibility Checking System to make the checking process as quick and straightforward as possible for schools and Local Authorities. The Department has also developed a model registration form to help schools encourage parents to sign up for FSM and provide guidance to Jobcentre Plus advisers so that they can make Universal Credit recipients aware that they may also be entitled to wider benefits, including FSM.

The take-up rate of UIFSM currently stands at 85%. The Department has not formally assessed the proportion of infant pupils who are entitled to, but not registered for FSM. The Department encourages all families who meet the eligibility criteria to apply for FSM.

The Department also has not estimated the amount of lunch debt owed by families for school meals. The Government continues to monitor cost-of-living issues that are affecting families.