Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the document entitled School level underlying data 2025, published on 5 June 2025, what assessment she has conducted on the reasons why 625 pupils in Ely and East Cambridgeshire constituency who are eligible for free school meals are not accessing them.

​This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child poverty which is why we are introducing a new eligibility threshold for free school meals ensuring all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit will be eligible from September 2026. This 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 of as part of the Child Poverty Strategy published on 5 December. Under the expansion, over half a million additional pupils will become eligible for free school meals.

The department has not made a formal assessment of the situation in Ely, however, specific factors such as lack of knowledge, stigma, and language barriers may impact take-up of free school meals.

The department wants to make sure as many eligible pupils as possible are claiming their free school meals. Introducing a new eligibility threshold for free school meals so that all children from households in receipt of universal credit will be eligible for free school meals from September 2026 will make it easier for parents to know whether they are entitled to receive free meals.

To support take-up, we are also rolling out improvements to the checking system that is available to all local authorities to help verify eligibility for free meals.

We welcome local authorities taking action to ensure government support reaches families, subject to them meeting legal and data protection requirements.