Free school meals to be extended to 500,000 more children

Any kid successful England whose parents person Universal Credit volition beryllium capable to assertion escaped schoolhouse meals from September 2026, the authorities has said.

Parents connected the recognition volition beryllium eligible careless of their income. Currently, their household indispensable gain little than £7,400 a twelvemonth to qualify.

The authorities says the alteration volition marque 500,000 much pupils eligible, which the premier curate said would "help families who request it most".

Sir Keir Starmer is facing much calls to tackle kid poorness by scrapping the two-child payment cap, but told the BBC that focusing connected escaped schoolhouse meals would assistance boost pupil attainment.

The authorities said the changes to escaped schoolhouse meals would prevention parents £500 a twelvemonth and "lift 100,000 children retired of poverty".

Sir Keir said the measurement was a "down payment" connected a broader kid poorness strategy, including measures that person already been announced, specified arsenic free schoolhouse meal clubs, and those owed to beryllium published successful this autumn.

Asked by the BBC wherefore helium would not archetypal scrap the two-child payment headdress - which prevents astir families from claiming means-tested benefits for immoderate 3rd oregon further children calved aft April 2017 - helium said "it's truly important that we absorption connected attainment and connected the outgo of living".

"I'm the archetypal to judge there's nary metallic bullet, there's nary 1 happening that if you bash that determination are nary different issues," helium said. "That's wherefore the [Child Poverty Taskforce] is looking astatine a wide scope of measures."

Education Bridget Phillipson besides stressed the program would pb to higher acquisition outcomes due to the fact that "if you're hungry, it's truly hard to concentrate".

The Department for Education (DfE) has acceptable speech £1bn to money the alteration up to 2029.

In an interrogation with BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Ms Phillipson declined to accidental wherever that wealth would travel from, but said schools would not person to find wealth for it and that details would beryllium acceptable retired successful adjacent week's spending review.

She besides confirmed to BBC Breakfast that the authorities was considering scrapping the two-child payment cap.

The authorities has besides pledged £13m to a twelve nutrient charities crossed England to "fight nutrient poverty" and said determination volition beryllium a reappraisal of standards truthful that schoolhouse meals are healthy.

Zayn Malik, the ex-One Direction star, who received escaped schoolhouse meals increasing up, welcomed the move.

"I'm beyond elated," helium wrote successful an Instagram story.

Charlotte Evans, 27, from Speke connected Merseyside, said her children presently received escaped schoolhouse meals.

"With having 4 kids it does assistance retired rather a spot - not having to interest astir what my kid is going to eat, if they're going to person enough," she told the BBC.

Christine Farquharson, subordinate manager of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), said "other measures - specified arsenic lifting the two-child bounds - would person a little outgo per kid lifted retired of poverty".

She said the enlargement of escaped schoolhouse meals would, successful the agelong term, pb to an further 1.7 cardinal children getting escaped lunches and astir 100,000 children "lifted retired of poverty".

However, she said that would not hap successful the "short run" and that "today's announcement volition not spot thing similar 100,000 children lifted retired of poorness adjacent year".

The Conservative enactment has claimed the argumentation would mean little wealth for schools' budgets.

Schools person pupil premium backing for children connected escaped schoolhouse meals. However, they volition not person that backing for the further children who person the meals arsenic a effect of the enlargement successful September 2026.

Neil O'Brien, shadiness acquisition minister, called it a "very nasty sting successful the process for schoolhouse funding" and said the authorities had "provided nary justification astatine each for this stealth cut".

A DfE spokesperson said ministers would "look implicit the agelong word astatine however we allocate it successful a amended targeted way".

Kate Anstey, caput of acquisition argumentation astatine the Child Poverty Action Group, said the hold would screen "all children successful poorness and those astatine hazard of poverty", with the existent criteria lone accounting for astir two-thirds of those children.

She said she hoped it was "a motion of what's to come" and the authorities would instrumentality much action.

The Association of School and College Leaders national calling it a "welcome measurement forward" but adding determination was "much much to beryllium done", portion the Sutton Trust foundation said it was a "significant measurement towards taking hunger retired of the classroom".

Liberal Democrat spokesperson Munira Wilson said the authorities needed to spell further, echoing calls from charities to abolish the two-child payment headdress successful next week's spending review.

The authorities is expected to denote its determination connected the headdress successful the autumn, erstwhile it publishes its kid poorness strategy.

Conservative person Kemi Badenoch accused Sir Keir of "causing confusion" implicit the argumentation during Prime Minister's Questions connected Wednesday.

The full fig of children registered for escaped schoolhouse meals successful England is astir 2.2 million, oregon 25.7% of the full pupil population, according to the latest data.

Families successful England request to meet definite criteria for their children to beryllium eligible.

That tin see receiving Universal Credit but, until the changes are implemented adjacent September, parents besides indispensable person a household income of little than £7,400 a year, aft tax.

Parents person to use for their children to person them and eligible children are not automatically enrolled.

In February, MPs connected the cross-party acquisition committee called for that to change.

They said tens of thousands of eligible children were missing retired connected escaped schoolhouse meals due to the fact that their parents were not claiming them - often due to the fact that of connection barriers oregon trouble with the administrative process.

Ms Phillipson told the BBC determination were nary plans to present automatic enrolment.

Children's eligibility for escaped schoolhouse meals varies crossed the UK.

All superior schoolhouse children in London and in Wales can entree escaped meals.

In Scotland, each children successful the archetypal 5 years of superior schoolhouse are eligible, arsenic good arsenic each children from families receiving the Scottish Child Payment benefit.

Parents in Northern Ireland tin use if they person definite benefits and are beneath an income threshold which is astir treble the existent England level, astatine £15,000.

Additional reporting by Branwen Jeffreys, Hope Rhodes and Rahib Khan.