Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which underspending on free school meals occasioned by absence or other reason is being retained as profit by the supplier; and whether they have any plans to tackle any such practice.

We have not made an assessment. Schools have a duty to provide free school meals to all pupils who are eligible for them and to pay for free school meals from the funding provided by the government, which includes additional funding for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. While the costs of providing meals each day may vary with factors such as absence, the vast majority of costs will be based on the number of pupils eligible.

We trust schools to manage their own budgets and it is for them to decide how to use their funding to provide free school meals, including whether to use a supplier.