Free School Meals: Secondary Education

(asked on 20th April 2026) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of expanding secondary school breakfast provision in (a) Yeovil constituency, (b) Somerset and (c) England.


Answered by
Olivia Bailey Portrait
Olivia Bailey
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
This question was answered on 28th April 2026

Through our Opportunity Mission, this government will ensure that all children get the best start in life. We are committed to rolling out free breakfast clubs in all schools with primary-aged pupils, helping to build strong foundations in the first years of school. It is right that we start from supporting the youngest children.

The National School Breakfast Programme (NSBP) is an inherited scheme from the previous government, providing subsidised breakfast food only to schools in disadvantaged areas via a national supplier, Family Action. This contract will end in July 2026.

In November 2025, we announced that all NSBP-participating schools with primary-aged pupils had been offered a place on the free breakfast club programme from September 2026. We also confirmed that all NSBP schools with secondary-aged pupils will continue to be supported to an equivalent value for the 2026/27 academic year so that these schools can continue to offer breakfast to their pupils.

Further details will be provided to these secondary schools in due course.

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