Thousands of children living in poverty missing out on free school meals

New research has revealed that every North West local authority has at least 1,500 school-age children in poverty who are not eligible for free school meals.

The Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) and Greater Manchester Poverty Action (GMPA) say its because the qualifying criteria is so restrictive.

Both are now urging local leaders to do what they can to ensure more kids get a free lunch but say the responsibility ultimately lies with the UK government to expand provision of free school meals across the country to tackle classroom hunger.

Calls to widen the threshold

Infants are guaranteed a free school meal in England but children in Year 3 and above must be in households on universal credit with an income below £7,400 per year (before benefits and after tax) to qualify. This threshold has not changed since 2018, despite increasing inflation. It means 100,000 (one in four) school-age children in poverty across the North West can’t claim free meals – at a time when one in three children in the region are below the poverty line and the cost of living crisis continues to bite.

The analysis highlights the stark inadequacy of the current free school system for families, with the number of school-age children who are poor but ineligible for free lunches ranging from 1,500 in Halton to 15,000 in Lancashire.

Child Poverty Action Group’s head of education policy Kate Anstey said:

Seeing the statistics at local level brings this issue home. Children in every corner of the North West are sitting in classrooms too hungry to concentrate and learn because they don’t qualify for a free school meal. Too many children are being let down by the Government’s cruel free school meals cut-off threshold – and these numbers should act as a wake-up call. The Government must bring in universal free school meals to ensure every child has the food they need and struggling families get breathing space from high costs. Means-testing children at lunchtime should be a thing of the past.

Graham Whitham, CEO at Greater Manchester Poverty Action, said:

"Child poverty rates have been rising in the North West for a number of years, and families across the region have been hit hard by soaring living costs. At a time when every penny counts, it cannot be right that 100,000 North West kids in poverty can’t claim free school meals.

"Low-income families are under immense financial pressure at the moment and introducing universal free school meals would mean they have that bit extra to spend on other bills and household essentials. It would also improve their children’s nutrition, ultimately helping them to learn, engage and thrive."

Government says it keeps the policy under review

In a statement a Department for Education spokesperson from the government said:

“We understand the pressures many households are under, which is why we have extended eligibility for free school meals to more groups of children than any other government over the past half a century - doubling the number of children receiving free school meals since 2010 from one sixth to one third.

“We have also put protections in place to ensure that children who are eligible for free school meal retain that entitlement even if their household circumstances change.”

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