Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to extend the range of supermarkets and convenience stores able to accept school meal vouchers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Free school meal vouchers can currently be spent in a variety of supermarkets. Initially, the scheme includes supermarkets that already have e-gift card arrangements in place with Edenred, including Asda, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Morrisons, M&S and Waitrose. On 21 April we confirmed that Aldi will be added to the list of supermarkets from week commencing 27 April. We continue to work with a wide range of supermarkets to encourage them to join. This involves them having the right infrastructure to deliver e-gift cards in a uniform way across their network of stores.