Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of auto-enrolment schemes 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.

Further to this, 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.

The department is 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.

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