Oral Question·Department for Education
“What assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing free school meals for all primary school pupils.”
Tabled: 21 January 2025Answered: 27 January 2025
Asked by
Ian Byrne
Labour — Liverpool West Derby
Answering Minister
the Secretary of State for Education
Answer from Hansard
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Stephen Morgan)
Our Government are driving an agenda to break down barriers to opportunity and reduce child poverty. Around £1.5 billion is spent annually on free lunches for over 3 million pupils. This includes all children from reception through to year 2, and we have committed to introducing free breakfast clubs in state-funded primary schools. As with all programmes, we will keep our approach under continued review.