Thank you for contacting me about free school meals.
I believe it is imperative that children have regular healthy and balanced meals throughout the day to ensure they are able to thrive in the classroom. I am also aware of the impact that the cost of living crisis is having on families across the country.
Over two million pupils are currently eligible for benefits based free school meals. Close to 1.3 million additional infants receive free and nutritious meals under the Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM) policy.
Under the last Government, the Department for Education spent over £1 billion each year on free school meals, including through the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme and school breakfast clubs. This included around £600 million on UIFSM.
As your representative in Parliament, I will continue to hold the Government to account to ensure that adequate funding is provided to ensure every child within my constituency and across the country has regular, healthy meals.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.
