Currently children are only eligible for free school meals if their parents are in receipt of benefits including income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, Child Tax Credit and universal credit – if household income is less than £7,400 a year (after tax and not including any additional benefits).
It is urging the Government to review the current £7,400 income threshold, which it says has remained unchanged since its introduction in 2018, to reach more children who are on the ‘cusp’ of experiencing food poverty as household budgets are squeezed by rising prices and inflation.
The LGA , which represents councils across England, also wants the sign-up process for the scheme to be simplified – by doing this and extending the scheme, it says more than a million additional children would qualify for free school meals.
At the moment, parents have to formally apply to their local authority, or via their child’s academy school, to claim free school meals if they fit the eligibility criteria. This is despite data on which school children are eligible already being held at Government level. Government estimates on claim rates suggest that automatic enrolment could capture the 11 per cent of eligible children who have not yet taken up the offer – equating to 215,000 pupils in England. This would also increase the amount of pupil premium funding for schools.
The LGA is calling on the Government to include the changes in its food strategy White Paper – due to be published imminently - which will contain a range of new proposals on tackling inequalities in access to healthy food and improving the environmental and public health impact of our national food supply.
Councillor Shaun Davies, chair of the LGA’s Resources Board, said, ‘Rising food, fuel and other costs affect everybody, but particularly low-income households with children who rely on extra support to make ends meet.
‘Streamlining and removing the red tape in the applications process, so that councils get given the information they need, is vital if we are to ensure no child misses out on a healthy meal. The Government should also urgently look to raise the earnings threshold and permanently extend the criteria to those who are currently not eligible due to immigration status, including undocumented parents and those who are not able to access public funds, so that no child goes hungry.’
The National Education Union (NEU) said expansion of free school meals was 'needed more than ever'.
Dr Mary Bousted, joint general secretary, said, 'Demand for free school meals has been growing for years, but first with the pandemic and now with the cost-of-living crisis gripping families across the country it is needed more than ever.
'While families living in poverty need far more wide-ranging support than they currently receive, free school meals are a lifeline. For many children it will be the only meal they are getting in the day. If the Government's intentions of "levelling up" are to be taken seriously, then this is one area they must not overlook.'