Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the number of additional children in Nottinghamshire who will become eligible for free school meals following recent changes to the eligibility criteria; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact on the level of child poverty of this policy.

The government is committed to widening opportunity and tackling child poverty. Expanding free school meals to all children in households receiving Universal Credit is expected to lift around 100,000 children out of poverty by the end of this parliament and put around £500 a year back into families' pockets.

The department anticipates that over half a million additional pupils nationally will become eligible as a result of this expansion. Published departmental analysis estimates that there are around 45,000 children in households receiving Universal Credit in Nottinghamshire. These children are within the group that may benefit from the expansion of free school meals eligibility, subject to meeting the relevant eligibility requirements and being registered for free school meals.

Providing a free, nutritious meal supports children's wellbeing, attendance, readiness to learn and educational attainment, and helps ensure that children flourish and succeed regardless of their background.