Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will seek to recoup monies paid to private catering firms for the provision of food parcels to disadvantaged young people in the event that the quality of those parcels is deemed to be inadequate.

The Department for Education does not directly contract school catering firms. These contracts are negotiated and held at school, academy trust or local authority level. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, and myself have since held a meeting with a number of catering companies, to be clear that higher standards are expected.

We know there is, understandably, concern about free school meal support during the period that schools will be restricted from opening. Schools can decide how best to support eligible free school meal pupils who are at home. We will provide extra funding to support schools to provide lunch parcels, or locally arranged vouchers. We have also reopened the national voucher scheme from the week commencing 18 January 2021.