Schools: Free Lunches and Milk

Lord Lexden Excerpts

Tuesday 27th March 2018 Lords Chamber

[Lord Agnew of Oulton]

My Lords, if we did not have a cap on the eligibility for free school meals but relied purely on universal credit, over half of children would end up being eligible. We have a number of recipients on universal credit earning in excess of £40,000 a year.

I believe that the pupil premium has been a tremendous success. We have closed the attainment gap by 10% since it was introduced in 2011, and invested more than £11 billion in schools to encourage them to recruit pupils from the poorest backgrounds.

[Lord Lexden (Con)]

What does my noble friend make of the claim that has been bandied about that 1 million children may be deprived of free school meals as a result of these reforms?

[Lord Agnew of Oulton]

My Lords, that was a very theoretical figure. It simply presumed that there would be no cap on the numbers of recipients if the universal credit system carried on without any cap. It was misleading, and it has concerned a lot of parents out there, because it has set hares running that are simply not relevant. We have been meticulous in trying to ensure that recipients of free school meals today will continue to receive them. Indeed, we have made that commitment not just for the current phase of their education but up to 2022, or thereafter if they are still in the school system.