We estimate that providing free school meals to all children from households receiving Universal Credit would result in around half of all pupils becoming eligible for free school meals \u2013 over three times as many as the 1.1 million (14%) that are eligible for and claiming free school meals in the latest figures[1]. We estimate that this would cost in excess of £3 billion more a year, including the cost of the extra meals and associated school deprivation funding, such as the pupil premium \u2013 the additional meal costs alone would be in excess of £450 million per year.<\/p>
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Costs in each of the next four years will be lower than this as the proportion of the pupil population living in households receiving Universal Credit will be lower prior to the completion of rollout. We have not provided precise estimates for the next four years as we believe the level of uncertainty around these figures means that releasing them would not be in the public interest.<\/p>
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