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<p>The department has not recently made a formal assessment of the links between free
school meals and educational outcomes.</p><p><br>Nutritious food plays an important
role in the development of healthy eating habits and ensures that pupils can concentrate
and learn. That is why the department spends over £1 billion annually providing free
meals to the greatest ever proportion of school children. Over one third of children
are now eligible for free school meals, compared to one in six in 2010. This increase
has been driven by the introduction of Universal Infant Free School Meals in 2014,
as well as the department’s generous Universal Credit transitional protections put
in place in 2018.</p>
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