Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when he will next review the eligibility thresholds for free school meals.

The department has extended the eligibility for free school meals (FSM) several times and has also introduced universal infant free school meals and further education free school meals.

We have also permanently extended eligibility to children from all groups with no recourse to public funds.

Schools fund benefit-related FSM from their core funding, which they receive through the schools block of the dedicated schools grant. This is derived from the national funding formula (NFF). For the 2022/23 financial year, the funding schools attract through the FSM factor in the NFF is increasing to £470 per eligible pupil.

The department is committed to aiming provision at supporting the most disadvantaged, those out of work, or those on a low income. The department will continue to keep all FSM eligibility under review, to ensure that these meals are supporting those who most need them.