Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent progress she has made on extending free school meals to all children whose families are in receipt of Universal Credit by the September 2026 deadline; and whether eligible families will have to opt-in to receive this.

This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child poverty. We are extending free school meals (FSM) to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit from the start of the 2026/27 academic year. We have published additional operational guidance on the expansion for local authorities, local authority maintained schools, academies and free schools

A pupil is eligible to receive FSM when a claim has been made on their behalf and their eligibility has been verified by either their school or the local authority. To support this process, our improvements to the Eligibility Checking System make it easier for local authorities, schools and parents to check if children are eligible for free meals. This is available now for local authorities to use.