Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has plans for free school meals outside of school term time.

Free school meals (FSM) is an educational entitlement, intended to support pupils while they are in education. Pupils do not receive FSM when they are not receiving education, including during school holidays.

Overall, two million more pupils now enjoy a free meal at school compared to 2010. This means over one third of pupils are in receipt of FSM, up from just one in six in 2010 thanks to the introduction of Universal Infant Free School Meals and generous transitional protections.

The Department is providing over £200 million of funding per year in the Holiday Activities and Food programme, which provides food and activities for disadvantaged children in England, for four weeks during summer and one week each at Christmas and Easter. The programme provides heathy meals, enriching activities and free childcare places to children from low income families, benefiting their health, wellbeing and education.

For those who require extra support, the Government is providing an additional £1 billion of funding, including Barnett impact, to enable the extension of the Household Support Fund in England in the next financial year. This is in addition to funding already provided since October 2021, bringing total funding to £2.5 billion. In England this will be delivered through an extension to the Household Support Fund backed by £842 million, running from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024, which Local Authorities use to help households with the cost of essentials.

Overall, the Government is providing total support of over £94 billion over 2022/23 and 2023/24 to help households and individuals with the rising cost of living.