Free School Meals: Finance
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the number of people who will no longer have transitional protection funding for free school meals by location after the 2025-26 financial year.
Answered by Olivia Bailey
We have set aside over £1 billion in funding over the multiyear spending review period to cover the cost of additional free meals, after taking into account the removal of protections. The action we are taking will ensure that over 500,000 additional children and pupils will receive a free and nutritious lunchtime meal.
Transitional protections have been in place since 2018 to ensure no one who gained free school meals (FSM) eligibility would lose it while Universal Credit was rolled out. The department intends to bring transitional protections to an end once the new eligibility is introduced. We have not yet carried out analysis by cohort characteristics to understand which pupils may no longer be eligible.
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