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1584967

registered interest
date	07/02/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Free School Meals
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take further steps to increase (a) the universal infant free school meals grant and (b) the benefits-related free school meals component of the schools national funding formula in the context of the increase in the cost of food.
tabling member constituency	Twickenham
tabling member printed	Munira Wilson
uin	141614
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/02/2023 answer text <p>The Department recognises the pressures that schools and suppliers may be facing due to rising costs. The Department holds regular meetings with other government departments and with food industry representatives on a variety of issues, including public sector food supplies.</p><p>This issue should be seen in the wider context of funding for schools. After the National Funding Formula (NFF) rates were set, the Department received additional funding from HM Treasury for core schools funding in 2022/23, in recognition of cost pressures. This funding has been distributed through a schools supplementary grant.</p><p>Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM) are funded through a direct grant to schools. In June 2022, the Government announced an increase to the rate of UIFSM funding to £2.41 per meal. Ordinarily, the new funding rates take effect from the start of the academic year. Due to cost pressures and some suppliers being forced to increase prices, these increases have been backdated.</p><p>The 2022 Autumn Statement set out that schools will receive additional funding in both 2023/24 and 2024/25. This brings the core schools budget to a total of £58.8 billion in 2024/25, which is £2 billion greater than published in 2021. This £2 billion is over and above what had been previously committed.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 20/02/2023 12:46:38 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
tabling member	4776 label Biography information for Munira Wilson

1565605

registered interest
date	10/01/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Free School Meals
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the criteria is for (a) registering for and (b) funding free school meals for children in non maintained but state funded schools.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	119984
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/01/2023 answer text <p>All pupils attending state funded schools are subject to the standard criteria for free school meals (FSM), which can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/free-school-meals-guidance-for-schools-and-local-authorities" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/free-school-meals-guidance-for-schools-and-local-authorities</a>. Equivalent funding is delivered to maintained schools and academies via the dedicated schools grant and general annual grant respectively.</p><p>Non-maintained special schools have a duty to provide FSM to eligible pupils under the Non-Maintained Special Schools (England) Regulations 2015. The latest statistics indicate that 39.7% of pupils with an education, health and care plan, and 36.4% of pupils with special educational needs support, were eligible for FSM in 2022. More information is available at: <a href="https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/special-educational-needs-in-england/2021-22" target="_blank">https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/special-educational-needs-in-england/2021-22</a>.</p><p>The Government spends over £1 billion annually delivering FSM to pupils in schools. Around 1.9 million disadvantaged pupils are eligible for FSM, as well as an additional 1.25 million infants who receive a free meal under the universal infant FSM policy. Together, this provides support to over one third of all pupils in schools.</p><p>In addition to this, the Department is funding up to £30 million in the national school breakfast programme until the end of the 2024 summer term. This funding will support up to 2,500 schools in disadvantaged areas, meaning that thousands of children from low income families will be offered free, nutritious breakfasts. The Department is also funding over £200 million a year in the Holiday Activities and Food Programme, which provides free holiday club places with healthy meals and enriching activities to children from low income families.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb grouped question UIN 120080 question first answered 16/01/2023 12:42:41 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1564510

registered interest
date	06/01/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Free School Meals
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 2 December 2022 to Question 98899 on Free School Meals, what estimate she has made of the proportion of children in each region of England who are entitled to free school meals but have not applied for them.
tabling member constituency	Twickenham
tabling member printed	Munira Wilson
uin	117901
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/01/2023 answer text <p>The Department has previously conducted research into the proportion of children who are entitled to free school meals but do not claim them. The research can be found at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupils-not-claiming-free-school-meals-2013" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupils-not-claiming-free-school-meals-2013</a>. This estimate contains breakdowns by Local Authority.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 11/01/2023 17:52:59 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
tabling member	4776 label Biography information for Munira Wilson

1549819

registered interest
date	08/12/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Free School Meals
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to analysis by Child Poverty Action Group, published in June 2022, what steps he is taking to help ensure that all children defined as living in poverty are guaranteed access to healthy meals at school.
tabling member constituency	Liverpool, West Derby
tabling member printed	Ian Byrne
uin	106544
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/12/2022 answer text <p>The Department continues to monitor the consequences of the rising cost of living and is working with other Government Departments to provide support.</p><p>The Department will continue to keep Free School Meal (FSM) eligibility under review, ensuring that these meals are supporting those who need them most. The Department believes that the current threshold is the right one, which enables pupils to benefit from FSM, while remaining affordable and deliverable for schools.</p><p>The latest published statistics 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, 37.5% of school children are now provided with FSM.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 13/12/2022 17:44:22 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
tabling member	4831 label Biography information for Ian Byrne

1546384

registered interest
date	29/11/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Free School Meals
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of children who are eligible for free school meals but who have not applied for them.
tabling member constituency	Twickenham
tabling member printed	Munira Wilson
uin	98899
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/12/2022 answer text <p>The latest published statistics show that around 1.9 million pupils are claiming benefits related free school meals (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 pupils receive a free meal in school.</p><p>The Department’s last estimate is that take up is around 89% of those who are entitled.</p><p>The Department provided an Eligibility Checking System to make the checking process as quick and straightforward as possible for schools and Local Authorities. The Department has also developed a model registration form to help schools encourage parents to sign up for FSM and provided guidance to Jobcentre Plus advisers so that they can make Universal Credit recipients aware that they may also be entitled to wider benefits, including FSM.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 02/12/2022 12:58:09 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
tabling member	4776 label Biography information for Munira Wilson

1546622

registered interest
date	29/11/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Free School Meals
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the annual cost of free school meals.
tabling member constituency	Leeds East
tabling member printed	Richard Burgon
uin	98890
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/12/2022 answer text <p>The core allocations that schools attract through the National Funding Formula (NFF) include funding in respect of free school meals (FSM). The FSM factor is worth £470 per eligible pupil in 2022/23. This will increase to £480 in 2023/24. The factor values for each year are published on GOV.UK at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-funding-formula-for-schools-and-high-needs" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-funding-formula-for-schools-and-high-needs</a>.</p><p>The Department spends over £1 billion each year on FSM. This includes around £600 million on Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM), where the per meal rate has been increased from £2.34 to £2.41, and backdated to 1 April 2022, in recognition of increased costs.</p><p>The Department continues to keep FSM eligibility under review to ensure that these meals are supporting those who most need them.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 06/12/2022 12:14:18 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
tabling member	4493 label Biography information for Richard Burgon

1541317

registered interest
date	09/11/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Free School Meals
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of rises in the number of pupils (a) eligible and (b) in receipt of free school meals.
tabling member constituency	York Central
tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
uin	83674
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/11/2022 answer text <p>The latest published statistics show that around 1.9 million pupils are claiming free school meals (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, 37.5% of school children are now provided with FSM.</p><p>The Department continues to monitor the consequences of the rising cost of living and is working with other government Departments to provide support. The Department will continue to keep FSM eligibility under review to ensure that these meals are supporting those who most need them. In setting a threshold, the Department believes that the current level, which enables children to benefit from FSM, while remaining affordable and deliverable for schools, is the right one.</p><p>The Department does not collect data on food brought into schools, nor consumed on school premises, other than FSM.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb grouped question UIN 83675 83677 question first answered 15/11/2022 17:20:52 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1520686

registered interest
date	11/10/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Free School Meals
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the (a) feasibility of extending the free school meal scheme to all (i) primary school aged (ii) secondary school aged students whose parents are in receipt of Universal Credit, and (b) the potential impact on educational attainment.
tabling member constituency	Barnsley Central
tabling member printed	Dan Jarvis
uin	61126
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/10/2022 answer text <p>The department continues to monitor the rising cost of living whilst working with other government departments, including the Department for Work and Pensions, on support surrounding this issue. The department will continue to keep free school meal (FSM) eligibility under review to ensure that these meals are supporting those who most need them. In setting a threshold, the government believes that the current level, which enables children to benefit from FSM, while remaining affordable and deliverable for schools, is the right one.</p><p>The latest published statistics 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, the greatest ever proportion of school children, 37.5%, are now provided with FSM.</p><p>The department has no current plans to conduct our own assessment of the effects of FSM on educational attainment, but we are aware of independent research in this area, such as that from the University of Essex, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, and will note its findings.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 19/10/2022 13:57:55 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	4243 label Biography information for Dan Jarvis

1506657

registered interest
date	20/09/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Free School Meals
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to analysis by Child Poverty Action Group, published in June 2022, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the finding that 800,000 were children living in poverty who were not eligible for free school meals.
tabling member constituency	Liverpool, West Derby
tabling member printed	Ian Byrne
uin	52067
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/09/2022 answer text <p>The department continues to monitor the rising cost of living and its impact on free school meals (FSM), whilst working with other government departments on support surrounding this issue.</p><p>The department believes it is right that provision is aimed at supporting the most disadvantaged, and those out of work or on the lowest incomes. We do not have any plans to extend universal provision, but we will continue to keep FSM eligibility under review to ensure that these are supporting those who most need them.</p><p>In setting a threshold, the government believes that the current level, which enables children to benefit from FSM while these remain affordable and deliverable for schools, is the right one.</p><p>Additionally, the government is providing over £200 million per year for the next three years to provide healthy food in the holidays via the department’s holiday activities and food programme, which provides breakfast clubs in thousands of schools. The department is as also delivering the School Fruit and Vegetable scheme, along with wider government schemes such as Healthy Start vouchers.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst grouped question UIN 52068 question first answered 27/09/2022 08:21:37 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	4831 label Biography information for Ian Byrne

1506658

registered interest
date	20/09/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Free School Meals
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of (a) the adequacy of the eligibility criteria for and (b) the potential merits of providing universal free school meals in advance of the start of the 2023-24 academic year.
tabling member constituency	Liverpool, West Derby
tabling member printed	Ian Byrne
uin	52068
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/09/2022 answer text <p>The department continues to monitor the rising cost of living and its impact on free school meals (FSM), whilst working with other government departments on support surrounding this issue.</p><p>The department believes it is right that provision is aimed at supporting the most disadvantaged, and those out of work or on the lowest incomes. We do not have any plans to extend universal provision, but we will continue to keep FSM eligibility under review to ensure that these are supporting those who most need them.</p><p>In setting a threshold, the government believes that the current level, which enables children to benefit from FSM while these remain affordable and deliverable for schools, is the right one.</p><p>Additionally, the government is providing over £200 million per year for the next three years to provide healthy food in the holidays via the department’s holiday activities and food programme, which provides breakfast clubs in thousands of schools. The department is as also delivering the School Fruit and Vegetable scheme, along with wider government schemes such as Healthy Start vouchers.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst grouped question UIN 52067 question first answered 27/09/2022 08:21:37 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	4831 label Biography information for Ian Byrne