Commons Sense

House of Commons · Westminster Hall

Free School Meals: Eligibility

12 July 2022 · 3 other contributors · 4,118 words

Opened by Emma Lewell Lab South Shields

Responding minister: Will Quince

Benefits & WelfareChildren & Families

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Emma Lewell raised concerns about free school meals: eligibility in Westminster Hall. A government minister responded.

Key points

  • Emma Lewell-Buck is concerned about over 42% of children in South Shields living below the poverty line, with figures rising since pre-pandemic times.
  • She cites studies linking child hunger to developmental impairment, delayed motor skills, and psychological impacts like withdrawn and aggressive behaviors.
  • Lewell-Buck asks the Government to expand free school meal eligibility to families receiving universal credit or equivalent benefits, which would cost an additional 550 million annually and support over one million children.

Key requests to Government

Lewell asks the Government to expand free school meal eligibility to families receiving universal credit or equivalent benefits, which would cost an additional £550 million annually and support over one million children. She also calls for an automatic registration scheme for free school meals and advocates for universal free school meals.

How the debate unfolded

MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said.

Opened the debate

Emma Lewell Lab South Shields

Emma Lewell is concerned about the high number of children living in poverty and missing out on free school meals. In her constituency, South Shields, over 42% of children live below the poverty line, with figures rising rapidly since pre-pandemic times. She cites studies linking child hunger to developmental impairment, delayed motor skills, and psychological impacts such as withdrawn and aggressive behaviors. The region's north-east has seen a resurgence of Victorian diseases like scurvy due to malnutrition.

Other contributors (3)
  • Afzal Khan Lab Manchester Rusholme

    Over 40,000 children in Manchester are eligible for free school meals. Families face difficult choices between food and utility bills during the summer holidays. The Government should ensure councils have funding to support these families. Cites a survey showing that 80% of families are cutting back on food in Manchester's Gorton area, questioning why every child should not have access to good nutrition at school.

  • Ian Byrne Lab Liverpool West Derby

    Calls for universal free school breakfasts and lunches due to bureaucratic issues causing children to fall through the cracks. Stresses the positive impact on education and lives of children in Liverpool, West Derby and beyond. Highlights upcoming rises in home heating costs and suggests examining successful universal free school meal policies from other European countries like Norway and Portugal.

  • Sandra McVeigh Lab Dunbartonshire East

    McVeigh agrees with Lewell's points, highlighting the Government's failure during the pandemic to support children through chaotic voucher schemes and inadequate food parcels. She emphasizes that a school breakfast Bill would benefit nearly 2 million children but criticizes the current scheme's limited reach.

Government Response

Will Quince

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Robertson. I congratulate the hon. Member for South Shields on securing this debate and commend her tireless work to raise awareness of challenges faced by disadvantaged children. The Government are committed to supporting those on low incomes through measures such as spending over £108 billion annually on working-age benefit support and recently addressing cost-of-living pressures. For free school meals, there are around 1.9 million pupils eligible under current criteria, up from 15% in 2015 due to protections during universal credit roll-out. The Government aim to provide nutritious meals for children who are out of work or on low incomes. We have increased funding and extended eligibility several times over the past half-century, including introducing universal infant free school meals. Last year, more than 600,000 children received healthy food through the holiday activities and food programme. The national schools breakfast programme is supported by £24 million in funding. For those with no recourse to public funds, eligibility has been permanently extended subject to income thresholds. I will continue to review eligibility for free school meals but extend eligibility would carry significant financial costs and could result in around half of pupils becoming eligible, impacting affordability. The Government have provided over £15 billion of support targeted at those with the greatest need and increased core funding for schools by £2.5 billion this year compared to last year.

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