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.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he has taken to support community food initiatives in a) England and b) the parliamentary constituency of Romford.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Crisis and Resilience Fund allows local authorities in England to support community food provision where this meets the Fund’s objectives. Local authorities are encouraged to work with voluntary and community sector organisations and connect food support with wider services, such as advice, benefit support and help with debt.
Local authorities determine provision according to local needs and priorities. The Department does not hold information on individual community food initiatives at constituency level.
The Government has also taken substantive action to support low-income households and tackle food insecurity, by increasing the National Living Wage and increasing the rates of Universal Credit. The Child Poverty Strategy, particularly the removal of the two-child limit and increasing access to Free School Meals, are also contributing to addressing demand for food related support.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the removal of the two-child limit on child poverty.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Our Child Poverty Strategy sets out the steps we are taking to reduce child poverty this Parliament. The removal of the two child limit will lift 450,000 children out of relative poverty after housing costs in 2029-30, rising to 550,000 children alongside other measures set out in our Strategy, such as the expansion of Free School Meals. These interventions will lead to the largest expected reduction in child poverty over a Parliament since comparable records began. Details of this assessment are available here.
We are now focused on delivering the commitments in the Strategy, monitoring its impact and the trajectory of poverty. Our Monitoring and Evaluation Baseline Report sets out a comprehensive and robust framework for how the Strategy is being implemented and evaluated including analytical plans and mechanisms for oversight.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the child poverty strategy on levels of child poverty.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Our Child Poverty Strategy sets out the steps we are taking to reduce child poverty this Parliament. The removal of the two child limit will lift 450,000 children out of relative poverty after housing costs in 2029-30, rising to 550,000 children alongside other measures set out in our Strategy, such as the expansion of Free School Meals. These interventions will lead to the largest expected reduction in child poverty over a Parliament since comparable records began. Details of this assessment are available here.
We are now focused on delivering the commitments in the Strategy, monitoring its impact and the trajectory of poverty. Our Monitoring and Evaluation Baseline Report sets out a comprehensive and robust framework for how the Strategy is being implemented and evaluated including analytical plans and mechanisms for oversight.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what was the total number of individual children who attended at least one Holiday Activities and Food Programme session over the course of the 2026 school summer holidays; and how many of those children were of (1) primary, and (2) secondary, school age.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme, backed by over £600 million of funding for the next three years, provides free nutritious meals, enriching activities, and safe environments to eligible children from reception to year 11 during the school holidays.
Participation data is not yet available for summer 2026. In summer 2025, over 624,000 children and young people attended HAF, of whom over 513,000 were funded directly through the programme and over 434,000 were in receipt of benefits-related free school meals. The department does not currently publish participation data by primary and secondary age phase.
Local authorities have significant flexibility to design and deliver their HAF offer to respond to local need, so the balance of participation between primary and secondary age children varies between areas.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many children were eligible for free school meals under transitional protections in the 2025–26 academic year; and, of those children, how many are now eligible for (1) targeted, and (2) expanded free school meals, and how many are no longer eligible for means-tested free school meals.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department has published estimates showing around three million children becoming eligible for benefits-based free school meals (FSM) under our expanded criteria. These estimates account for the ending of transitional protections.
Families must claim FSM as a condition of eligibility, which is then recorded through the school census as either targeted or expanded free school meals. The department publishes data on recorded levels of FSM eligibility annually. The next published data, which will include the expanded FSM breakdown, will be available in summer 2027.
Asked by: Andrew Cooper (Labour - Mid Cheshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help reduce the attainment gap between children on Free School Meals and their peers.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
‘Every child achieving and thriving’ establishes the department’s plan to deliver improved outcomes for all children, regardless of their background or where they live. Our ambition is for all children to achieve higher standards and for the disadvantage gap to be halved.
The department’s approach is comprehensive and includes rebuilding early family support, improving teacher recruitment and retention so every child benefits from high-quality teaching, broadening the curriculum alongside access to high-quality enrichment, and launching two place-based missions, Mission North East and Mission Coastal, to drive improvement in areas where outcomes remain stubbornly low.
The government has introduced the Enrichment Expansion Programme funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and delivered in partnership with the department, which will work with over 400 schools in the most disadvantaged areas.
The department is also taking steps to support schools and parents to work in partnership by establishing minimum expectations for parental engagement. Successful parental engagement can have a particularly significant impact for the most disadvantaged.
On English and maths, the department is funding the RISE English and Maths Hubs programmes to help schools improve teaching practice and pupil outcomes.
Additionally, we are providing around £3.2 billion of pupil premium funding in the 2026/27 financial year to help raise the educational outcomes of disadvantaged 5 to 16-year-olds. We will also introduce government funded pupil premium strategy reviews for schools that need additional support. These targeted reviews will equip school leaders to improve outcomes for disadvantaged children.
Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment her Department has made of the difference between the Universal Infant Free School Meals funding rate and the average cost of meal provision charged by catering providers; and whether she intends to increase the funding rate to reflect rising food and operational costs.
Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The cost of providing a school meal varies between schools and catering providers, reflecting differences in local circumstances, operating models, procurement arrangements and contractual terms.
Universal infant free school meals are funded through a separate grant at a rate of £505 per eligible pupil, which assumes that each pupil takes 190 meals over an academic year. The government is committed to ensuring that eligible pupils receive a nutritious meal during the school day and that schools retain flexibility to determine the catering arrangements that best meet their needs. Schools can access procurement support through the Get Help Buying for Schools service.
The department is working across government to address rising costs. We continue to engage with the sector to understand costs to caterers and schools and to support delivery of school food. As with all programmes, funding arrangements are kept under review as part of wider spending decisions.