Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of children who will be eligible for free school meals in (a) 2024-25 and (b) 2025-26.

The department monitors free school meals take up, including through the annual publication of data, which is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics.

The department does not regularly publish forecasts.