Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department plans to revise the temporary free school meals eligibility criteria to (a) increase the household income threshold for families with no recourse to public funds and (b) allow children from undocumented families who are not receiving s4 or s17 support to claim for free school meals during the covid-19 outbreak.

Earnings thresholds are used widely across the government for determining eligibility for passported benefits. The threshold of £7,400 per annum is in line with the threshold for families applying for free school meals under the standard means-tested eligibility criteria.

We do not intend to revise the eligibility criteria to include children from undocumented families who are not receiving section 4 or section 17 support. We think that it is right that we have extended eligibility to those families with no recourse to public funds who have been identified as needing extra support.

This is a temporary extension that will last for the duration of the COVID-19 outbreak, until schools have reopened to all children. Plans to permanently extend eligibility to children with Zambrano carers, families receiving Section 4 support, and families with leave to remain under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights have been consulted on.