Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children in England are (a) eligible and (b) registered for free school meals.
As of the schools January 2020 census, the number of children known to be eligible for
benefits-related free school meals in England was 1,440,778. Additionally, at the same census point, a further 1.4 million received a free meal under the Universal Infant Free School Meal policy. More information is available here:
https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics.