Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of children who are eligible for free school meals have been diagnosed with special educational needs and disabilities.

The Department publishes figures on the proportion of pupils in England with special educational needs (SEN) who are eligible for free school meals (FSM). The most recent figures, from the January 2022 school census, can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/special-educational-needs-in-england/2021-22.

A table showing counts of FSM eligibility by SEN status for all pupils in England as of January 2022 can be found at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/dd7aa9b8-0366-4317-9409-08db08498a11.

The table shows that 27% of pupils who were eligible for FSM had SEN. The school census does not collect information on pupils with disabilities.