Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to ensure all schools are aware of the extension of the right to free school meals to children in all families subject to the 'no recourse to public funds' rule.

The permanent extension of free school meal (FSM) eligibility to families with no recourse to public funds has been in place since the start of the 2021/22 summer term. The department updated its FSM guidance page at that time to reflect this change. The current guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/free-school-meals-guidance-for-schools-and-local-authorities.

On 20 April 2022, an article on the expansion of FSM eligibility was included in the Education and Skills Funding Agency Update, which was emailed to academies and local authorities directly. The article can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/esfa-update-20-april-2022.

On 26 April 2022, the department issued a notice to all schools and local authorities through its sector bulletin that this change had come into effect.