Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she take steps to delegate powers to local authorities to (a) identify and (b) automatically register all children eligible for free school meals.

There are currently around 2.1 million pupils eligible for and claiming free school meals (FSM). The department recognises the vital role played by FSM and encourages all eligible families to take up their entitlement. To make this as easy as possible the department provides the Eligibility Checking System, which allows local authorities to quickly verify eligibility for FSM.

The department is aware of a range of measures aimed at maximising take up of FSM, including through approaches being trialled by local authorities. We welcome local authorities taking action to ensure government support reaches families, subject to them meeting legal and data-protections requirements.

In addition to FSM, the department supports families through the Holiday Activities and Food programme, which provides free childcare places, enriching activities and healthy meals to children from low-income families, benefiting their health, wellbeing and learning throughout the school holidays.

We are also rolling out free breakfast clubs in every primary school, so children start the day ready to learn. This is part of the department‘s commitment to breaking down barriers to opportunity so that all children have the freedom to achieve and thrive in education.

The department is also working closely with the Department for Work and Pensions to develop a child poverty strategy to reduce child poverty by tackling its root causes and giving every child the best start in life. The strategy will be published in the spring.

As with all government programmes, the department will keep its approach to FSM under continued review.