Free School Meals (Automatic Registration of Eligible Children) Bill

Sam Rushworth Excerpts

2nd reading
Friday 14th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Peter Lamb]

It has been a while since I looked at the numbers, but my understanding when I last looked was that the level of unclaimed benefits in our system is at least 10 times greater than the total value of benefit fraud. People are choosing not to access the support available by and large because of stigma or a lack of awareness, but the impact within our society is real, and we should be doing everything we can to reduce that stigma.

We all pay in so that there is a safety net for us when we need it and to ensure that other members of our community, our neighbours and the people we care about do not have to go without when they fall on difficult times. We should do everything possible to avoid the vilification that is disgustingly often put upon people simply because they are poor.

Beyond the moral argument, this measure is about the future of our country. Education is an investment in the future prosperity of our country and of our citizens. It is the bedrock of economic growth and of enabling people to live independent and successful lives. Auto-enrolment stands to improve educational outcomes in three ways. The most obvious is by reducing hunger, the impact of which upon concentration and educational performance is well known. School meals were introduced 120 years ago next year to ensure that children received at least one nutritious meal a day, so that they could function effectively.

Secondly, auto-enrolment would improve household incomes, and household income is positively correlated with educational outcomes. In fact, there is a double-digit improvement in performance at GCSE level between children in the lowest and second-lowest income deciles, and that improvement continues all the way up in decreasing amounts until we hit the third-highest decile, where for all the money spent on private schools, educational outcomes plateau across the top 30% of incomes.

[Sam Rushworth (Bishop Auckland) (Lab)]

I thank my hon. Friend for the speech he is making and for putting child poverty at its heart. On educational outcomes, does he agree that auto-enrolling children would mean that schools could take advantage of many of the gateway supports that are premised on how many children at a school are on free school meals? I am sure that, like me, he will have spoken to schools carrying a heavy level of debt that is school dinner debt, because they are having to provide meals for hungry children.

[Peter Lamb]

I agree with my hon. Friend. I am well aware of the amount of effort that local schools are having to make directly to deal with the consequences of financial deprivation. It is important that we try to ensure that the statistics on free school meals are accurate, because it is a gateway to support. It is also how we measure any number of indicators of poverty in our society. If there is a statistical link between some groups under-reporting compared with other groups, we will have inaccurate figures on where deprivation is in our society and how best to try to address that problem.

The last benefit of auto-enrolment relates to the pupil premium of £1,455 a pupil, which is designed to counter the impact of deprivation on educational outcomes. It is a payment that schools receive on the basis of the number of pupils in receipt of free school meals. Low uptake of free school meals is now directly limiting the funding available to those schools where it would make the most difference to educational outcomes.

As a Government who are ambitious for the education of our children and committed to securing high levels of economic growth, the failure to address these matters of deprivation is a hurdle that we have to clear if we are going to succeed. This is well recognised. The Education Committee recently reported:

“We consider that the arguments for auto-enrolment in free school meals for those children currently eligible are conclusive. In the interests of alleviating hunger in schools and improving health and educational outcomes for the poorest children, auto-enrolment must be brought in without delay.”

Pilots run by local authorities, which quite heavily bend the rules set by current legislation to try to get as many of their children registered as possible, have repeatedly shown over recent years the scale of under-registration and the impact that auto-enrolment could have, both for those families benefiting and for school funding in deprived communities. The Government’s own figures suggest that under-registration stands at a minimum of 11%, which is equivalent to a quarter of a million children, although research nationally and in my own constituency suggests that the overall figure could well be significantly higher.

It is worth noting that the £7,400 income threshold cuts off the overwhelming majority of children who are living in poverty in this country, who still do not qualify for free school meals. That should certainly be corrected in due course, but for now, this Bill would make the most amount of difference to the very poorest children, benefiting them, their families, their schools and—through improvements in educational outcomes—society at large.

I accept that the mess the new Government have inherited from the last Government and the economic uncertainty created by decisions currently being taken in Washington mean that it may be too much to expect a wholesale adoption of the policy today. However, I hope that the Minister—who has been generous with his time with me on this matter, and has demonstrated his commitment to increasing the uptake of free school meals—will be able to give a commitment that auto-enrolment will be given serious consideration as part of the work now being undertaken to bring an end to childhood poverty in the United Kingdom. I also hope that today’s debate will underline the support among Members of this House for bringing about this change on behalf of our most vulnerable constituents. Surely, the very least that our country has a right to expect of its Parliament is that we will ensure that the nation’s children are fed.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mike Wood (Kingswinford and South Staffordshire) (Con)]

I congratulate the hon. Member for Crawley (Peter Lamb) on promoting this Bill so ably. The last Conservative Government massively expanded eligibility for free school meals, meaning that the proportion of children and young people eligible is much higher than was the case under any previous Government. The evidence here proves that the inheritance we left behind in this area last July was much kinder than that which the last Labour Government left us in 2010, with one in three children able to get a free school meal—as opposed to one in six when the previous Labour Government was last in office—despite a large fall in the number of workless households.

[Sam Rushworth]

We see in the bodies of children increased stunting, with the average 10-year-old 1 cm shorter than they were in 2010. How does that square with what the Minister is saying? We see a malnutrition crisis.

[Mike Wood]

When we look at dietary habits in recent decades, we see that that is not confined to parts of the income spectrum. There has been a deterioration in the quality of diets going back over several decades that is quite separate from issues of poverty.

As of January 2024, more than 2.1 million pupils were eligible for benefits-related free school meals, which amounted to 24.6% of all pupils. In addition, more than 90,000 disadvantaged students in further education received a free school meal at lunch time. Collectively, this supported the children and young people who needed it most to ensure that they could make the most of their world-class education, boost their health and save their parents considerable amounts that they could not afford.

--- Later in debate ---

[Sam Rushworth (Bishop Auckland) (Lab)]

I am grateful for the opportunity that the Bill provides to put on record the importance of discussing the scourge of child poverty in our country, particularly as it relates to children’s nutrition. It is a simple fact that the height of an average five-year-old increased progressively until 2013 but has since reversed; children aged five are shorter today than in the past. We face a dual burden: not only stunting, but obesity. We have seen a 30% increase in obesity since 2006 and a 22% increase in teenagers with type 2 diabetes since 2017.

All of this points to the poverty of children’s diets in this country. When we have this conversation, for me it is never a matter of what we can afford to do; we cannot afford not to do something about it, because the knock-on in the NHS is immense, and the knock-on in future work days missed by the next generation will be immense. It is a sad reality that, as my hon. Friend the Member for Crawley (Peter Lamb) said, in a typical UK classroom one third of children will be living in relative poverty. Children are also the group most likely to be living in cold homes in this country.

Probably the most startling statistic from my county of Durham, which really shows what austerity has done to our children over the last decade and a half, is the 250% increase in the number of children in the care system. The cost of that for the local taxpayer is immense, as is the human and social cost for those children. But somewhere between being in the care system and being a happy child with a healthy life are many children who live in conditions of neglect. That is why it is so important that the state and schools sometimes do the work to provide what children are not getting in the home.

I hope that the child poverty taskforce will report soon, and we will see some positive change. I welcome the breakfast clubs introduced by the Government, which will make a difference not only to ensuring that children start the day well fed and having settled, but to the cost of living. I met a constituent a few months ago who shared with me that it cost her £400 a month just to pay for her children to be looked after from 7.30 till the start of the school day. That was having a massive impact on her, so for her, that breakfast club is an extra £400 a month, and I am grateful for that.

What is being proposed today is a modest and sensible tweak that addresses the challenge of children not being enrolled. I am grateful to the Minister for saying that the Government will look at this issue, because we cannot afford to allow a generation of children to grow up as they are right now.

Children’s Social Care: North-east England

Sam Rushworth Excerpts

Wednesday 5th February 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mark Ferguson]

I very much agree with my constituency neighbour. This is a huge problem and it increases the pressure on children’s social care, which, as I am sure we are all aware, already takes up a huge proportion of local government budgets. That is very relevant to those of us who sat through today’s debate on the local government finance settlement.

Children’s social care is locked in a vicious cycle. Chronic underfunding has led to far too many children reaching crisis point, pushing more and more of them into the care system. Many local authorities have been left with little choice but to spend an increasing proportion of their limited funds on late intervention, and to reduce investment in early support for families and young people.

[Sam Rushworth (Bishop Auckland) (Lab)]

One of the biggest cost savings for children’s social care is kinship carers. These unsung heroes do a great deal to care for children, often in very difficult circumstances, but they often feel that the state is not there to support them in that work. Does my hon. Friend agree that more needs to be done to properly recognise the contribution that is made by kinship carers?

[Mark Ferguson]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising the vital issue of kinship care. It is something that is very dear to my heart. Gateshead’s kinship care—a programme I am particularly proud of—has enabled the majority of children to safely remain in the care of their family or trusted kin, maintaining a stable family environment, protecting the children and preventing them from entering the care system. It is a key intervention that is making a real difference in Gateshead.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Janet Daby)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Gateshead Central and Whickham (Mark Ferguson) on securing this debate. He is absolutely right that early intervention is best. In this significant Adjournment debate, I have heard other hon. Friends talk about kinship care, mental health, breakfast clubs, early help and care leavers, and of course I will be responding to my hon. Friend himself.

I was thrilled to hear that Gateshead council achieved a “good” rating across all areas of its children’s services in the Ofsted report published last week. The report highlights the strength of Gateshead’s early help service, its robust multi-agency collaboration, its strong leadership and its effective support for care leavers in their transition to independence, including a focus on education, employment and training alongside their wellbeing and aspirations. The report was published only a few weeks after another north-east council, North Tyneside, secured an “outstanding” rating across all areas of its children’s services, which is a phenomenal achievement.

Two thirds of council children’s services in the north-east were rated either “good” or “outstanding” at their last Ofsted inspection. Although this aligns with the national average, it is impressive given the north-east’s economic backdrop.

Two thirds of local authorities in the north-east are classified as highly deprived, making it the most deprived region in England. The link between high deprivation and high demand clear, so it is no surprise that demand for children’s social care services is high in the north-east. Roughly a third more children per 10,000 are subject to a child in need plan or a child protection plan, or are looked after, compared with the national average. That is the highest of any region in England.

The number of children in care has also grown faster in the north-east than in any other region. That said, it is worth noting that the whole country has seen the number of children in care rise significantly under the previous Government, with more than 80,000 children and young people in care across England on any given day.

[Sam Rushworth]

I thank the Minister for highlighting the rise in the number of children in care. Will she acknowledge the link between the growing number of children in care and the effects of 14 years of austerity?

School Accountability and Intervention

Sam Rushworth Excerpts

Monday 3rd February 2025 Commons Chamber

[Catherine McKinnell]

I absolutely recognise the challenges that my hon. Friend sets out. Many schools right across the system, whether local authority maintained or academies, face similar challenges. The report card system will be a really important reflection of a whole school’s experience, and will laser-focus on areas such as attendance and inclusion, creating toolkits to enable schools to know the standards they need to reach, but also enabling schools to work together collaboratively, supporting one another to achieve those outcomes for children. We are not in the game of punishing schools; we are in the game of supporting them to bring about the change that we know they want to see.

[Sam Rushworth (Bishop Auckland) (Lab)]

I have visited more than a dozen schools in my constituency since being elected, and I am always overwhelmed by the passion of the teachers who have to work in really trying circumstances. They are often very under-resourced to deal with children who are ill-prepared for school and a growing caseload of children with special educational needs, so I really welcome the additional investment with the RISE teams. As the Minister will know, Conservative Members are fond of quoting our improvement in the PISA rankings, which is the legacy of the generation who experienced Sure Start—where children had a Sure Start centre nearby, that generation achieved 0.8 grades higher at GCSE. What will the Government do to ensure that we have more children coming to school who are prepared for school?

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities

Sam Rushworth Excerpts

Thursday 24th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Catherine McKinnell]

The hon. Gentleman is right to identify that all schools are part of solving this huge challenge that far too many children and families face. That is why we have made changes to how Ofsted assesses schools, changes that are still in progress; it is why we are carrying out the curriculum and assessment review and looking at attendance measures; and it is why we are looking at local authority co-operation with schools, to make sure that all schools within a local area can work together to ensure that inclusive mainstream education is available for all.

[Sam Rushworth (Bishop Auckland) (Lab)]

A mother in my constituency came to see me. Her son has been off-rolled from mainstream primary school, which she would like him to attend, and offered only a distant special school that is entirely inappropriate for his needs. She would like to know why Durham county council is prepared to spend £30,000 a year on transport for her son to attend a school that she does not feel is appropriate for him, but will not spend the same amount on a classroom assistant who could help him to be in mainstream school. That is happening under rules introduced by the previous Government. Will the Minister meet me to discuss this?

[Catherine McKinnell]

I would be happy to meet my hon. Friend. He has outlined just one example of how the system is broken and needs to be fixed.