Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many additional places the grammar school expansion fund will create; and what percentage of those will be reserved for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The department announced an additional £50 million of capital funding supporting the expansion of selective schools for 2018/19. It will not be possible to provide an accurate forecast of the number of additional places to be provided in 2018/19 until the successful applications have been announced. Based on the average per-place cost of previous expansions funded via the Condition Improvement Fund, £50 million could fund up to 4,000 places.
There is no set number of places reserved for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. Successful schools will, however, be required to prioritise the admission of children in receipt of the pupil premium, and looked after and previously looked after children.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many pupils will be entitled to free school meals for each year from 2022 to 2030.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The information requested in not held centrally.
The department’s modelling estimates the difference in those eligible and claiming under the new government regulations compared to those eligible and claiming under the previous benefits system.
From the modelling, we estimate that by 2022, around 50,000 more children will benefit from free school meals compared to the previous benefits system.
The government is committed to reviewing the level of the threshold in order to ensure that the children in need of free school meals the most will continue to receive.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many pupils would have been entitled to free school meals in 2022 under the previous system of benefits-based eligibility; and how many pupils will be entitled under the system of eligibility based on receipt of Universal Credit.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The information requested in not held centrally.
The department’s modelling estimates the difference in those eligible and claiming under the new government regulations compared to those eligible and claiming under the previous benefits system.
From the modelling, we estimate that by 2022, around 50,000 more children will benefit from free school meals compared to the previous benefits system.
The government is committed to reviewing the level of the threshold in order to ensure that the children in need of free school meals the most will continue to receive.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether pupils transferring from primary school to secondary school who are currently entitled to free school meals will carry with them a continuing entitlement under the new arrangements; and if that entitlement ceases, how many children will be affected in each year to 2027.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
Pupils eligible for free school meals will retain eligibility when transferring from primary to secondary school under the new system.
During the period of Universal Credit (UC) rollout, those who claim free school meals will retain their eligibility even if their income rises above £7,400, because of the protections the government has put in place. At the end of UC rollout, those children who were protected – if they are still in school – will continue to be protected until the end of their phase of education (such as primary or secondary school).
The department has not produced forecasts of the number of children receiving free school meals, protected or otherwise, that transition between primary and secondary school.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many children previously ineligible for free school meals will now become eligible as a result of the adoption of the new earnings threshold of £7,400 excluding benefits.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The department estimates that by 2022, around 50,000 more children will benefit from a free school meal compared to the previous benefits system.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Agnew of Oulton on 7 March (HL5702), what is their estimate of the annual saving to HM Treasury from the changes to eligibility criteria for free school meals set out in the Free School Lunches and Milk, and School and Early Years Finance (Amendments Relating to Universal Credit) (England) Regulations 2018 (SI 2018/148).
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The new criteria for free school meals (FSM) will not result in savings. The department estimates that by 2022, around 50,000 more children will benefit from FSM compared to the previous benefits system, and this figure does not include children who will have their eligibility protected.
Any child entitled for FSM today where his or her parent(s) are in receipt of Universal Credit (UC) would remain eligible for FSM until the end of UC rollout, and after this point (if they are still in school) until the end of their phase of education.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the annual value of free school meals for each family in receipt of such meals in England.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
Free school meals provide a healthy, nutritious meal to children and young people, and help to ensure they are well nourished, develop healthy eating habits and can concentrate and learn. The department estimates the cost of a free school meal to be £2.30 per pupil per day, based on the average cost of providing a meal according to a survey carried out by the School Food Trust. With 190 school days in each academic year, this is an annual cost of £437 per pupil, inclusive of the school’s relevant fixed costs.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the annual value per child of providing free school meals in England.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
Free school meals provide a healthy, nutritious meal to children and young people, and help to ensure they are well nourished, develop healthy eating habits and can concentrate and learn. The department estimates the cost of a free school meal to be £2.30 per pupil per day, based on the average cost of providing a meal according to a survey carried out by the School Food Trust. With 190 school days in each academic year, this is an annual cost of £437 per pupil, inclusive of the school’s relevant fixed costs.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have received regarding the funding of children’s services from (1) fostering and adoption agencies, (2) local authorities, (3) private providers, (4) nurseries, and (5) parents.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The information is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. This is due to the volume of representations over a significant period of time.
The government is listening to the views of the sector and service users, including about funding for children’s social care. The department meets regularly with sector representatives including local government, private providers and the voluntary sector. Discussions have included sector concerns around funding and demands on children’s services. In addition, the government is currently conducting a technical consultation as part of the Fair Funding Review of relative needs and resources. This review is seeking views on what factors drive local government spending, and how we account for this in a way that draws a more transparent link between local circumstances and local resources.
The department regularly receives correspondence from private childcare providers, nurseries and other early years settings on a wide variety of topics related to the early years, including our funding rates. Getting our funding rates right is key to the successful delivery of our childcare entitlements, and the department is happy to hear from providers and other organisations.
As a result of consultations on schools and high needs funding in 2017 we received over 25,000 responses from local authorities, schools and other education providers, parents and others. The results of that consultation were published in September 2017 and a copy is attached. Since then the department has continued to receive representations from local authorities, schools and others about the funding allocated for children’s education.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their estimate of the cost to charities of the additional spend on food banks likely to arise from ending free school meals for those affected by restrictions introduced by the Free School Lunches and Milk, and School and Early Years Finance (Amendments Relating to Universal Credit) (England) Regulations 2018 (SI 2018/148).
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
Our transitional protection arrangements will ensure that no child will lose free school meals during the rollout of Universal Credit as a result of these new regulations. Under new criteria, we estimate that by 2022 around 50,000 more children will benefit from a free school meal compared to the previous benefits system.