Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children are covered by the transitional protections for eligibility for free school meals; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of ending those protections in March 2025 on the children currently protected.

As with all government programmes, including free school meals, we keep our approach under continued review. Support for children to access free school meals, has additionally been considered as part of the Child Poverty Taskforce’s consideration of how to:

1. Support households to increase their income including considering social security reforms that support people into work and alleviate poverty.

2. Help to bring down essential household costs, build savings and tackle problem debt.

3. Alleviate the negative experience of living in poverty, including through supporting families and the role of public services.

No pupil will see any change because of changes to traditional protections until after the summer and the department will communicate further with schools before that time.