Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department is taking steps to help ensure that parents of students receive the full financial support to which they are entitled.

The Government spends around £1.5 billion per year so children have access to nutritious food during the school day and in the holidays.

Around 1.9 million pupils are claiming free school meals (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.

The Department provides an Eligibility Checking System to make the checking process as quick and straightforward as possible. The Department continues to use and refine a model registration form to help schools encourage parents to sign up for FSM.

The Department also provides guidance to Jobcentre Plus advisers so that they can make Universal Credit recipients aware that they may also be entitled to wider benefits, including FSM.

The Department is committed to continuing support for school breakfasts, and in November 2022 the National School Breakfast Programme was extended for an additional year until the end of the 2024 summer term. The Department is funding up to £30 million in this programme and it will support up to 2,500 schools in disadvantaged areas. This means that thousands of children from low income families will be offered free nutritious breakfasts to better support their attainment and wellbeing. Schools are eligible for the programme if they have 40% or more pupils from deprived households, as measured by the Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index.

The Department has also significantly expanded the Holiday Activities and Food programme and are contributing over £200 million per year in these free holiday club places for children from low income families. The programme provides enriching activities and a healthy meal for disadvantaged children in the Easter, summer and Christmas holidays. Local Authorities reported that over 685,000 children benefited from the programme last summer.

The Government has announced cost of living support worth £26 billion for the next financial year designed to target the most vulnerable households. This is on top of the £37 billion support provided by the Government this year. Much of this, including the £400 energy bills discount, the £150 Council Tax discount and the Energy Price Guarantee, is being applied automatically, ensuring eligible households receive the support they are entitled to. Cost of living payments are also paid automatically to support eligible people on means-tested benefits.