Pupil Premium: Mid Bedfordshire

(asked on 11th December 2023) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2023 to Question 4598 on Free School Meals: Mid Bedfordshire, whether she has made an estimate of how much pupil premium funding schools have not received as a result of eligible children not claiming free school means in Mid Bedfordshire constituency in the last 12 months.


Answered by
Damian Hinds Portrait
Damian Hinds
Minister of State (Education)
This question was answered on 15th December 2023

The Mid Bedfordshire constituency has a current Pupil Premium allocation of £3,470,920 for the 2023/24 financial year. This could change in the final allocations in spring if there are any adjustments for new and growing schools. The department has not estimated the impact of free school meals (FSM) uptake in the last 12 months on the level of Pupil Premium funding for schools in the Mid Bedfordshire constituency.

The department wants to make sure as many eligible pupils as possible are claiming FSM. To support this, an Eligibility Checking System is provided 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 provided 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. Over a third of pupils in England now receive FSM in schools, compared with one in six in 2010.

The department has also increased Pupil Premium funding rates by 5% for the 2023/24 financial year, taking total Pupil Premium funding to almost £2.9 billion.

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