Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 11 June 2025 to Question 56745 on Free School Meals, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of per-pupil funding for free school meals in providing food that meets nutritional guidelines approved by her Department.

This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child poverty. We have now announced that we are extending free school meals to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026. It will lift 100,000 children across England out of poverty and put £500 back in families’ pockets, supporting parents in decisive action to improve lives ahead of the Child Poverty Strategy coming later this year.

The new entitlement will be fully funded. The department has set aside over £1 billion in funding over the multi-year spending review period to cover the additional meal costs. This is new money as opposed to funding within existing school budgets. This will support schools to deliver nutritious and high-quality meals which meet the school food standards to over half a million additional pupils.

Schools fund benefits-related free school meals from core funding, at a rate set by the national funding formula at £495 per eligible pupil for the academic year 2025/26. The current meal rate for universal infant free school meals and further education free meals is increasing to £2.61 for 2025/26. As with all programmes, we will continue to keep funding for free school meals under review.