Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the eligibility to free school meals will be of children in households in receipt of Universal Credit, broken down by employment status.

As I indicated in my answer to the hon. Member for Manchester Central on 1 December, the Department for Education is working closely with the Department for Work and Pensions, other Government departments and other interested parties to establish new criteria for determining entitlement to benefits-related Free School Meals as the roll-out of universal credit (UC) progresses. No decision has been taken yet, and our proposals on this matter will be announced in due course. As an interim measure, all pupils whose parents are in receipt of UC are currently entitled to free school meals.