Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information his Department holds on the longest length of time a primary school has been waiting for a response from Edenred relating to a query about free school meal vouchers since the beginning of the covid-19 outbreak.

As my right hon. Friends the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer have both made clear, the government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by Covid-19.

During this period, we are asking schools to support pupils eligible for benefits-related free school meals by providing meals or food parcels through their existing food providers wherever possible. However, we recognise that providing meals and food parcels is not a practicable option for all schools. That is why, on 31 March, we launched a national voucher scheme as an alternative option, with costs covered by the Department for Education.

Voucher codes are being processed and many thousands of families are redeeming them. As of 28 April, Edenred have indicated that over 16,500 schools have placed orders for codes under this scheme. As of Friday 7 May, Edenred reported that over £58 million worth of voucher codes have been redeemed into supermarket e-gift cards by schools and families.

Schools can contact Edenred using either the email address or phone number setup specifically for the Department of Education’s national voucher scheme (freeschoolmeals@edenred.com or 0333 400 5932). We do not hold details of the time taken to respond to individual queries. We are working closely with Edenred regarding the performance of the voucher scheme and their engagement with queries from schools.

We are working tirelessly with Edenred to resolve any outstanding technical problems so that children eligible for free schools meals are supported quickly. As always, we thank schools for their patience while we expand the system to meet the high demand and for ensuring that the families who are most in need continue to receive the support that they require.

These are rapidly developing circumstances and we will continue to keep the situation under review and to keep Parliament updated accordingly.