Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of extending free school milk provision until the end of the Reception year on (a) child nutrition, (b) oral health outcomes and (c) health inequalities among children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

The Nursery Milk Scheme (NMS) is a statutory scheme which allows early years childcare settings to reclaim the cost of providing one-third of a pint of milk per day to children under the age of five years old who attend a setting for two or more hours per day. Schools can claim reimbursement from the scheme in respect of their pupils aged under five years old.

There are no plans to extend free school milk provision through the NMS until the end of the reception year, so no assessment has been made. The School Food Standards provide that milk must be available in schools for those who want it at least once a day during school hours. Separate legislation allows pupils who are eligible for free school meals to continue to receive free milk at school after the age of five years old. The Government is expanding eligibility of free school meals, meaning that more children are able to access milk as part of their free meals.