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<p>Education, including free school meals (FSM), is a devolved matter. The Department
is aware that approaches will vary between different administrations. This response
outlines the information for England only.</p><p>The latest published statistics from
the Department are available at: <a href="https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics"
target="_blank">https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics</a>.
The figures show that around 1.9 million pupils are claiming FSM. This equates to
22.5% of all pupils, up from 20.8% in 2021. Together with a further 1.25 million infants
supported through the Universal Infant Free School Meal policy, over one third of
school children are now provided with FSM at a cost of over £1 billion a year. The
Department currently has protections in place, ensuring that eligible pupils keep
their FSM entitlement even if their household circumstances change.</p><p>The Department
believes that the current eligibility threshold level, which enables children in low
income households to benefit from FSM while remaining affordable and deliverable for
schools, is the right one. The Department will continue to keep FSM eligibility under
review to ensure that these meals are supporting those who most need them, as well
as continuing to monitor current issues that affect disadvantaged families, such as
the rising cost of living, and its effect on FSM.</p>
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