Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that children who are eligible for free school meals are registered to receive them.

We are determined to give every child, regardless of their background, the very best start in life. Free school meals (FSM) are key to this and we want all parents whose children are entitled to them, to apply for them. To support this the Department for Education provides an electronic Eligibility Checking System (ECS), which allows local authorities to quickly check data held by DWP, the Home Office and HMRC in order to establish FSM eligibility. The Department has also provided a model registration form and accompanying guidance, which schools can use as part of their enrolment process.

We want to make it as simple as possible for schools and local authorities to determine eligibility for FSM, and the Department is looking at what can be done in the longer term to make the FSM registration processes even more efficient.