Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department takes through school food (a) standards and (b) guidance to tackle ultra-processed foods; and whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward further proposals to help reduce the proportion of ultra-processed items in school (i) meals and (ii) vending machines.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) has considered the impact of processed foods on health in 2023 and 2025, and recommends that on balance, most people are likely to benefit from reducing their consumption of processed foods high in energy, saturated fat, salt and free sugars and low in fibre.
The School Food Standards already restrict foods high in fat, salt and sugar, as well as low quality reformed or reconstituted foods, but to ensure quality and nutrition in meals for the future, the department is working with with experts across the sector to revise the School Food Standards, so every school is supported with updated nutrition guidance.
The School Food Standards apply to food and drink provided to pupils on school premises up to 6pm and include vending machines.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on the number of children that have required access to free school meals in each of the last five years in Ely and East Cambridgeshire constituency.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department publishes data on free school meals (FSM) in its annual ‘Schools, pupils and their characteristics’ publication, available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics/2024-25. The most recent data was published on 5 June, and the next publication is planned for summer 2026.
To access FSM data for the Ely and East Cambridgeshire constituency for the 2024/25 academic year, refer to the file titled 'School level underlying data 2025 (CSV, 22 MB)', located in the 'Additional supporting files' section.
To access data from previous academic years, visit the 'Releases in this series' section on the publication website. Then, locate the 'School level underlying data' file under 'Additional supporting files'.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate she has made of the proportion of pupils in Fylde constituency who are eligible for free school meals but do not take them.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department publishes data on free school meals (FSM) in our annual ‘Schools, pupils and their characteristics’ publication, which is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics/2024-25. The most recent data was published on 5 June, and the next publication is planned for summer 2026.
The department does not hold information on the proportion of pupils who are known to be eligible for FSM but do not take them. However, we collect data on the proportion of pupils who are eligible for FSM and the number and proportion of pupils who had taken lunch recorded as taking a FSM on census day.
To access data from previous academic years, visit the 'Releases in this series' section on the publication website. Then, locate the 'School level underlying data' file under 'Additional supporting files'.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children in Lancashire were eligible for free school meals in each of the last five years.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department publishes data on free school meals (FSM) in our annual ‘Schools, pupils and their characteristics’ publication, which is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics/2024-25. The most recent data was published on 5 June, and the next publication is planned for summer 2026.
The department does not hold information on the proportion of pupils who are known to be eligible for FSM but do not take them. However, we collect data on the proportion of pupils who are eligible for FSM and the number and proportion of pupils who had taken lunch recorded as taking a FSM on census day.
To access data from previous academic years, visit the 'Releases in this series' section on the publication website. Then, locate the 'School level underlying data' file under 'Additional supporting files'.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Holiday Activities and Food programme on levels of (a) food insecurity and (b) support for families during school holidays.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The holiday activities and food programme (HAF) ensures that children who are eligible for free school meals can access enriching activities and healthy meals during school holidays, benefiting their health, wellbeing and learning. On 28 August, the department announced that over £600 million has been confirmed for the programme for the next three financial years, from 2026/27.
This multi-year commitment gives parents and providers certainty that clubs will be available over what can otherwise be an expensive holiday period, ensuring that children and young people continue to benefit from enriching holiday experiences and nutritious meals. The programme also opens work opportunities for parents on low incomes to support their families.
Almost five million HAF days were provided across the Christmas, Easter and summer holidays this year, reaching over half a million children. During summer 2024, over 628,000 children attended the HAF programme.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the income thresholds for eligibility for free school meals.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child poverty, that is why the department is introducing a new eligibility threshold for free school meals. This ensures that all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit will be eligible from September 2026. This change will lift 100,000 children across England out of poverty and put £500 back into families’ pockets.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on the number and proportion of pre-schools that rely on fundraising to cover (a) operational and (b) staffing costs in the South West.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The early years funding rates for the 2025/26 financial year for Gloucestershire are £5.71 for the 3 and 4 year-old entitlement, £7.94 for the 2 year-old entitlements, and £10.75 for children under 2s. This is slightly below national average due to relative differences in local costs of delivery and the proportion of children with additional needs which are reflected in the Early Years National Funding Formula (EY NFF) used to set local authority rates.
Regarding levels of additional needs, the EY NFF uses data on free school meals and the Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (for the 2s and under formula only), disability living allowance and English as an additional language. The formulae also include an area cost adjustment to reflect variations in local staff and premises costs.
The department does not hold data on the proportion of settings using fundraising to support their income.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how funding rates for early years education in Gloucestershire compare with the rest of England; and what criteria these funding rates are based on.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The early years funding rates for the 2025/26 financial year for Gloucestershire are £5.71 for the 3 and 4 year-old entitlement, £7.94 for the 2 year-old entitlements, and £10.75 for children under 2s. This is slightly below national average due to relative differences in local costs of delivery and the proportion of children with additional needs which are reflected in the Early Years National Funding Formula (EY NFF) used to set local authority rates.
Regarding levels of additional needs, the EY NFF uses data on free school meals and the Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (for the 2s and under formula only), disability living allowance and English as an additional language. The formulae also include an area cost adjustment to reflect variations in local staff and premises costs.
The department does not hold data on the proportion of settings using fundraising to support their income.
Asked by: Harpreet Uppal (Labour - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking with her Cabinet colleagues to promote equality as part of the Government mission entitled Break Down Barriers to Opportunity.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
All children and young people should have every opportunity to succeed, no matter where they are from. However, we know educational inequalities exists across the country. This is not acceptable in Huddersfield or nationally.
The department is tackling inequalities in the system head-on through our Plan for Change. In September, we rolled out 30 hours of funded childcare for working parents, saving eligible parents using their full entitlement an average of £75,000 a year.
We are also rolling out free breakfast clubs in every state-funded primary school, expanding free school meals to all children on Universal Credit, and have delivered the largest ever uplift to early years pupil premium.
We are recruiting an additional 6,500 expert teachers in our schools and colleges and are making good progress, with over 2,000 more teachers in our secondary and special schools.
The department will spend close to £1.5 billion over the next three years on improving family services and early years education to begin the hard work needed.
We will fund Best Start Family Hubs in every local authority to ensure that children and families who need support the most, especially those from low-income backgrounds or with additional vulnerabilities, can access it. These hubs will be open to all families but will be located in disadvantaged communities where support is most needed, ensuring services are both inclusive and targeted.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Child Poverty Strategy will end the two-child limit on Universal Credit.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Tackling child poverty is at the heart of this Government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity.
The Child Poverty Taskforce will publish a Child Poverty Strategy in the autumn that will deliver measures to tackle the structural and root causes of child poverty.
The Strategy will look at all available levers, including social security changes, across four key themes of increasing incomes, reducing essential costs, increasing financial resilience, and better local support especially in the early years.
The commitments we have made at the 2025 Spending Review and since are a downpayment on our Child Poverty Strategy, which will build on the expansion of free breakfast clubs, extension of free school meals to all households claiming Universal Credit, national minimum wage boost and the cap on Universal Credit deductions through the Fair Repayment Rate.