Free School Meals: Eligibility

(asked on 14th July 2025) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of pupils she expects to be eligible for Free School Meals (a) this year and (b) in future years.


Answered by
Stephen Morgan Portrait
Stephen Morgan
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This question was answered on 21st July 2025

The department published information on pupil free school meal eligibility in the annual Schools, Pupils and Characteristics publication, which can be accessed here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics/2024-25. The most recent data is based on the January (spring) school census. Under current eligibility criteria, the department spends around £1.5 billion on free lunches annually.

We estimate that over 500,000 additional children will benefit from expanded free school meal eligibility from September 2026, net of the ending of transitional protections, based on data which can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/estimate-of-additional-children-claiming-free-school-meals-following-expansion-of-eligibility/2025. We have set aside over £1 billion in additional funding over the multi-year spending review period to cover meal costs.

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