News

Campaigners urge UK governments to find £1.75bn for universal free school meals

A third of school-aged children living in poverty in the UK – roughly one million young people – do not get free school meals (FSM).

New research from the Covid Realities project and the Child Poverty Action Group (Patrick et al, 2021) says that restrictive eligibility criteria and barriers to FSM take-up are to blame.

The majority of those missing out are in England (900,000; 37 per cent) and Wales (55,000; 42 per cent), while Scotland (25,000; 17 per cent) and Northern Ireland (20,000; 22 per cent) fare relatively better.

Campaigners ultimately want to see school meals offered to every pupil, something which the report estimates would cost £1.75bn a year. In addition, families with no recourse to public funds, often due to their immigration status, should also be allowed access to FSMs.

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