Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the overall funding for the pupil premium has been increased in line with the increase in the number of pupils who are eligible for free school meals in the UK.

We are monitoring the eligibility for free school meals (FSM) and the pupil premium as part of the normal policy making process. We will collect definitive information on the number of pupils who are eligible for FSM at the October school census.

We are committed to levelling up opportunities to make sure everyone has a fair chance to realise their potential and no-one is left behind. The pupil premium furthers this objective by helping schools improve the academic attainment and wider outcomes of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Since the pupil premium was introduced in 2011, it has provided more than £18 billion of additional funding for schools and has played an important role in contributing to the narrowing of the disadvantaged attainment gaps at age 11 and 16.

Pupil premium allocations for the financial year 2020-21 were published in June, and the first quarterly instalments were paid out in June and July. Announcements on pupil premium funding for the financial year 2021-22 will follow later in the year. Announcements for future years will be made in due course.