'Feeding more children every day, for free, is one of the biggest interventions we can make to put more money in parents’ pockets, tackle the stain of poverty, and set children up to learn.'
The Labour government is extending free school meals to a further 500,000 children, with any child in England whose parents receive Universal Credit able to claim free school meals from September 2026.
The rule changes, as part of the Labour government’s policy to lift children out of poverty, will save parents around £500 a year.
The move will lift 100,000 children out of poverty, according to the Department for Education.
Under the current rules, only children whose household income is less than £7,400 receive free school meals.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “Working parents across the country are working tirelessly to provide for their families but are being held back by cost-of-living pressures.
“My government is taking action to ease those pressures. Feeding more children every day, for free, is one of the biggest interventions we can make to put more money in parents’ pockets, tackle the stain of poverty, and set children up to learn.
“This expansion is a truly historic moment for our country, helping families who need it most and delivering our Plan for Change to give every child, no matter their background, the same chance to succeed.”
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: “It is the moral mission of this government to tackle the stain of child poverty, and today this government takes a giant step towards ending it with targeted support that puts money back in parents’ pockets.
“From free school meals to free breakfast clubs, breaking the cycle of child poverty is at the heart of our Plan for Change to cut the unfair link between background and success.
“We believe that background shouldn’t mean destiny. Today’s historic step will help us to deliver excellence everywhere, for every child and give more young people the chance to get on in life.”
Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward
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