Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of ending transitional protections for free school meals on levels of school funding.

This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child poverty. We have now announced that we are extending free school meals to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026. It will lift 100,000 children across England out of poverty and put £500 back in families’ pockets, supporting parents in decisive action to improve lives ahead of the Child Poverty Strategy coming later this year.

Providing over half a million children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds with a free, nutritious lunchtime meal every school day will also lead to higher attainment, improved behaviour and better outcomes, meaning children get the best possible education and chance to succeed in work and life.

Transitional protections have been in place since 2018 to ensure no one who gained FSM eligibility would lose it while Universal Credit was rolled out. Following our expansion of eligibility from September 2026, it is our intention to end all protections.

Schools will receive an increase in funding as a result of the change in FSM policy. We have set aside over £1 billion in funding over the multiyear spending review period to cover the cost of additional free meals, after taking into account the removal of protections.

There will be no impact of the removal of FSM protections on the pupil premium or related disadvantage funding during the spending review period. Pupils that are currently protected will remain so for 6 years after they receive FSM under the "FSM6" categorisation.

Over the longer term, we are reviewing how we allocate pupil premium and related funding to schools and local authorities to ensure it is targeted to those who need it most, while maintaining the overall amount we spend on these funding streams.