Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make it his policy to provide free school meals to every child up to the age of 16 in state education; and if he will make a statement.

Under benefits-related criteria, the department provides a free, healthy meal to around 1.9 million children, ensuring they are well-nourished and can concentrate, learn, and achieve in the classroom.

This government has extended eligibility for FSM several times and to more groups of children. This includes the introduction of universal infant FSM, and further education free meals.

In addition to this, the temporary extension of FSM eligibility to some groups with no recourse to public funds that had been in place since 2020 was extended to all groups and made permanent from Easter this year, subject to income thresholds.

The department thinks it is right that provision is aimed at supporting the most disadvantaged, those out of work, or on the lowest incomes. We do not have any plans to extend universal provision, but the department will continue to keep FSM eligibility under review, to ensure that these meals are supporting those who most need them.

The government is continuing to provide targeted cost of living support for households most in need. Through the Household Support Fund, the government is providing an additional £500 million to help households with the cost of household essentials, on top of what has been provided since October 2021. This brings the total funding for this support to £1.5 billion. This helps those in most need with payments towards the rising cost of food, energy, and water.