Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment her Department has been made of the difference between the eligibility threshold for free school meals in England compared to (a) Northern Ireland and (b) other devolved nations; and if she will take steps to review the threshold that applies for free school meals in England.

Education, including free school meals (FSM), is a devolved matter. The Department is aware that approaches will vary between different administrations. This response outlines the information for England only.

The latest published statistics from the Department are available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics. The figures show that around 1.9 million pupils are claiming FSM. This equates to 22.5% of all pupils, up from 20.8% in 2021. Together with a further 1.25 million infants supported through the Universal Infant Free School Meal policy, over one third of school children are now provided with FSM at a cost of over £1 billion a year. The Department currently has protections in place, ensuring that eligible pupils keep their FSM entitlement even if their household circumstances change.

The Department believes that the current eligibility threshold level, which enables children in low income households to benefit from FSM while remaining affordable and deliverable for schools, is the right one. The Department will continue to keep FSM eligibility under review to ensure that these meals are supporting those who most need them, as well as continuing to monitor current issues that affect disadvantaged families, such as the rising cost of living, and its effect on FSM.