Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children with No Recourse to Public Funds have been in receipt of free school meals since his Department extended provision to that group.

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

Our latest guidance for schools on free school meals is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance-for-schools.

During the COVID-19 outbreak, we are temporarily extending free school meal eligibility to include some children of groups who have no recourse to public funds. As per our published guidance, the extension is temporarily in place to support families facing difficulties due to the current unique circumstances. These extensions will end when schools have reopened to all children. The guidance is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance/guidance-for-the-temporary-extension-of-free-school-meals-eligibility-to-nrpf-groups.

We do not hold information on the number of children of groups who have no recourse to public funds that have received free school meals since we extended eligibility during this period.

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