Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of thresholds for free school meals; and what discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on those thresholds.

The latest published statistics show that around 1.9 million pupils are claiming free school meals (FSM). This equates to 22.5% of all pupils, up from 20.8% in 2021. Together with a further 1.25 million infants supported through the Universal Infant Free School Meal policy, 37.5% of school children are now provided with FSM.

The Department continues to monitor the consequences of the rising cost of living and is working with other government Departments to provide support. The Department will continue to keep FSM eligibility under review to ensure that these meals are supporting those who most need them. In setting a threshold, the Department believes that the current level, which enables children to benefit from FSM, while remaining affordable and deliverable for schools, is the right one.

The Department does not collect data on food brought into schools, nor consumed on school premises, other than FSM.