Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Gateshead South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of Magic Breakfast's report entitled Adolescents and breakfast, published on 16 April 2026, including its findings on the benefits of breakfast provision for secondary-aged pupils.
Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
We welcome the publication of Magic Breakfast’s Adolescents and Breakfast report and the charity’s valuable contribution to school breakfast provision. The government is committed to tackling child poverty and delivering meaningful action to support children and families. We recognise the importance of a soft start to the school day with a healthy breakfast and the positive impact this can have on attendance, concentration and readiness to learn.
Since April 2025, our free breakfast club programme has delivered 10 million meals to children across England. As of September 2026, over 2,700 schools are delivering a free breakfast club, with further schools joining in stages throughout 2027 and 2028.
We are also continuing to support breakfast provision to former National School Breakfast Programme schools with secondary-age pupils for this academic year.
Asked by: Taiwo Owatemi (Labour - Coventry North West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment the Department has made of the effectiveness of local authority opt-out free school meal registration schemes with the requirement for a claim to be made by a pupil, parent or other responsible adult; and if the Department will publish guidance on the basis on which local authorities may operate such schemes.
Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department has now expanded free school meals (FSM) to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit and we want to make sure that every family that is entitled to support can access it. That is why the department has upgraded its eligibility checking system, worked with schools and councils to reach parents directly and provided resources and guidance to support local awareness campaigns.
The department is closely monitoring FSM take-up as the expansion rolls out to ensure this support reaches every family that can benefit from it.
The department is aware that some local authorities choose to operate local arrangements to help identify children who may be eligible for free school meals and to support take-up. The department continues to work closely with local authorities but hasn’t formally assessed the efficacy of this method.
Asked by: Michael Payne (Labour - Gedling)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the number of additional children in Nottinghamshire who will become eligible for free school meals following recent changes to the eligibility criteria; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact on the level of child poverty of this policy.
Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government is committed to widening opportunity and tackling child poverty. Expanding free school meals to all children in households receiving Universal Credit is expected to lift around 100,000 children out of poverty by the end of this parliament and put around £500 a year back into families' pockets.
The department anticipates that over half a million additional pupils nationally will become eligible as a result of this expansion. Published departmental analysis estimates that there are around 45,000 children in households receiving Universal Credit in Nottinghamshire. These children are within the group that may benefit from the expansion of free school meals eligibility, subject to meeting the relevant eligibility requirements and being registered for free school meals.
Providing a free, nutritious meal supports children's wellbeing, attendance, readiness to learn and educational attainment, and helps ensure that children flourish and succeed regardless of their background.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions her Department has held with Leicester City Council on the local economic drivers for the rise in Free School Meal eligibility.
Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
As part of the government’s mission to tackle child poverty, the department is extending free school meals to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit from the start of the 2026/27 academic year.
As a result of this expansion, more children are now eligible for free school meals, including in Leicester. The department has engaged with local authorities across England to support the expanded entitlement and ensure eligible families can benefit from this support.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support is available for the estimated 2440 children and teenagers who no longer qualify for the Holiday Activities and Food programme.
Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme, backed by over £200 million per year, provides free nutritious meals, enriching activities and safe environments to eligible children during the school holidays. The programme remains specifically targeted at children eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) from households with annual earnings of £7,400 or less, ensuring the programme prioritises families facing the greatest levels of disadvantage.
Local authorities have discretion to use up to 15% of their funding to provide free or subsidised places to children who do not meet the eligibility criteria who could benefit from HAF, in line with local needs and priorities.
HAF also sits alongside wider support for low-income families, including the expansion of FSM to all children from households receiving Universal Credit, the continued rollout of free breakfast clubs and broader action through the child poverty strategy.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, why eligibility for the Holiday Activities and Food programme no longer aligns with eligibility for with Free School Meals.
Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme, backed by over £200 million per year, provides free nutritious meals, enriching activities and safe environments to eligible children during the school holidays. The programme remains specifically targeted at children eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) from households with annual earnings of £7,400 or less, ensuring the programme prioritises families facing the greatest levels of disadvantage.
Local authorities have discretion to use up to 15% of their funding to provide free or subsidised places to children who do not meet the eligibility criteria who could benefit from HAF, in line with local needs and priorities.
HAF also sits alongside wider support for low-income families, including the expansion of FSM to all children from households receiving Universal Credit, the continued rollout of free breakfast clubs and broader action through the child poverty strategy.
Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance her Department provides on the allocation of Pupil Premium and free school meals funding for pupils with Education, Health and Care Plans who are educated or supported through alternative provision or external programmes; and whether she has made an assessment of the adequacy of arrangements to ensure that organisations delivering educational or support programmes to such pupils receive appropriate funding where schools continue to receive Pupil Premium funding despite the pupil not regularly attending the school.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department publishes guidance setting out the funding arrangements for Pupil Premium, free school meals (FSM) and alternative provision.
Pupil premium allocations are calculated using census data on FSM eligibility over the last six years. Schools and alternative provision providers are responsible for deciding how to use this funding, in accordance with the conditions of the grant, to improve outcomes for their disadvantaged pupils, including pupils with education, health and care (EHC) plans.
For pupils with EHC plans in alternative provision who are eligible for FSMs, funding is provided through local authority funding arrangements within the high needs funding system. Under the FSM expansion grant for 2026/27, local authorities will receive additional funding for eligible pupils in special and alternative provision settings, which should be passed on where providers incur additional meal costs.
Where a pupil is educated or supported through alternative provision, the funding arrangements depend on the nature of the placement and the body it was commissioned by. The department's statutory guidance on arranging alternative provision sets out the respective responsibilities of local authorities and schools, including the role of the pupil's home school where the pupil remains on its roll.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Leicester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in light of the expansion of eligibility for Free School Meals, what assessment they have made of the implications for the development and living standards of children in that category who remain ineligible for the Holiday Activities and Food Programme.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are funding the holiday activities and food (HAF) programme with more than £600 million over the three financial years from 2026/27. This means that local authorities can continue to provide free holiday sessions, including nutritious food, to more than 500,000 children a year.
From September, free school meal (FSM) eligibility expanded to all households in receipt of Universal Credit, creating two categories of FSM: targeted and expanded. HAF is intended to support children and families facing the greatest disadvantage, meaning eligibility is primarily linked to those households in the targeted FSM category. However, local authorities are also able to use a proportion of their HAF funding to support any other children who may benefit, including those in the wider expanded FSM group.
The expansion of free school meals, which took effect from the start of the school year, means that half a million more children will be able to receive free and nutritious lunchtime meals each day. This will benefit their health and attainment and save their families hundreds of pounds a year.
The department continues to work with local authorities on HAF participation. The government has also committed to a full evaluation of FSM expansion.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Gateshead South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the impact of the ending of transitional protections for free school meals on 31 August 2026 on looked-after children.
Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department has significantly expanded access to free school meals (FSM), introducing new eligibility criteria applying to all children in households receiving Universal Credit, which took effect from the start of this school year. This means that half a million more children will be able to receive free and nutritious lunchtime meals each day, after accounting for the ending of transitional protections. This approach ensures support is targeted at children in the lowest-income households, including looked after children.
The department has considered the impact of ending transitional protections as part of its reforms to FSM. However, it is not possible to identify looked after children who were previously receiving FSM but are no longer eligible following the end of transitional protections.
Asked by: Al Carns (Labour - Birmingham Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what additional steps his Department is taking to reduce child poverty in Birmingham, following the removal of the two-child benefit cap.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
We have extended Free School Meals eligibility to all pupils in households receiving Universal Credit, delivered the first sustained above-inflation increase in the standard allowance of Universal Credit, benefiting around 4 million households, and delivered a £1 billion package to reform crisis support.
We are also investing £39 billion in social and affordable housing, and our £15 billion Warm Homes Plan will lift one million households out of fuel poverty by 2030. To strengthen local services, we are investing £500 million to roll out Best Start Family Hubs, with a commitment to create up to 1,000 hubs across the country by the end of 2028 and investing £500 million in the UK-wide Better Futures Fund, breaking down barriers to opportunity for up to 200,000 vulnerable children and young people.
We are committed to long-term, lasting change beyond this Parliament, ensuring child poverty remains a priority, and we will continue to work across Government and with our stakeholders and partners to ensure we deliver.