'Every day, we see the devastating impact of poor diet and food scarcity on the health of our children and young people. This cannot be right, and your government cannot stand by while it worsens.'

Doctors and dentists are joining growing calls for the government to provide free school meals to all primary school children, highlighting the need to improve children’s diets.

Health experts, including the Royal College of Paediatrics, the British Dental Association, and Child Health, have warned that poor diets are contributing to tooth decay, obesity, and mental health problems in children. They are urging the government to take action, citing research that shows the significant health benefits of free school meals for all primary school children. Studies reveal that less than 2% of packed lunches meet the same nutritional standards as free school meals.

On September 10, doctors and dentists marched to the Department of Health and Social Care to deliver their message to the health secretary, Wes Streeting.

In a letter to Streeting, they wrote: “Every day, we see the devastating impact of poor diet and food scarcity on the health of our children and young people. This cannot be right, and your government cannot stand by while it worsens. That is why we are writing to implore you to seek the rollout of nutritious Free School Meals for all children attending state-funded primary schools in England.”

For years, campaigners have urged successive governments to introduce free school meals as a means to combat child poverty. In June, the National Education Union (NEU) launched its “No Child Left Behind” campaign, calling for universal access to free meals for all primary school students. The anti-poverty campaigners note the injustice that 4.2 million children in the UK – equivalent to 9 pupils in every class of 30 – are growing up in poverty. The campaign also notes that, while Wales and Scotland have already committed to providing free school meals for all primary students, England is falling behind. Scotland pledged to expand free school meals in 2020, followed by Wales in 2021. “It is time for England to catch up,” the campaign states.

Keir Starmer is facing increasing pressure to endorse the nationwide implementation of free school meals, particularly after London Mayor Sadiq Khan announced that all primary school pupils in the capital will receive free meals for one year starting in September. Starmer has so far declined to fully commit to supporting free school meals for all primary children across the country. Instead, Labour has pledged £315 million for its breakfast clubs and plans to legislate via its children’s wellbeing bill to make them mandatory for all primary schools.

At this year’s Labour conference, the minister in charge of school food said he is “keen to learn” from Khan’s rollout of free school meals to all primary pupils to inform “how we may take further interventions in future.”

When asked about expanding free lunches at a fringe event, Stephen Morgan said the “difficult financial climate” meant the government was focusing on its plans for breakfast clubs in every primary school. But he added that he was “very keen to learn from what Sadiq has been doing in London, and thinks “we’ve got to make sure that the evidence is there to demonstrate how we may take further interventions in the future.”

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