Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department plans to take in the event that the size of food orders under the new school breakfast tender decrease in the third term of support when schools must cover 25 per cent of the cost of food orders.

The government is committed to continuing support for breakfast clubs and we are funding up to a further £24 million to continue our programme over the next two years. This funding will support around 2,500 schools in disadvantaged areas meaning that thousands of children in low-income families will be offered nutritious breakfasts. The focus of the programme is to target the most disadvantaged areas of the country, including the Department for Education’s Opportunity Areas.

In terms of the schools’ financial contribution, this is an attractive offer to schools, providing free breakfasts for their pupils for two terms followed by a very substantial discount for the following four terms. Asking schools to contribute a small proportion of the costs means that the overall funding of up to £24 million can go further, reaching a higher number of schools, and therefore more disadvantaged children overall. We have seen strong interest from eligible schools so far since we invited expressions of interest, and our programme will make a real difference in terms of children’s health, attainment, wellbeing and readiness to learn.

Our provider, Family Action, is ensuring that schools fully understand and are committed to their financial contribution when they join the programme. The department and Family Action are continually monitoring the programme and will act upon any issues that may arise.