All young people from households eligible for universal credit will be offered free meals in further education in what the prime minister has described as a “historic moment”.
The Department for Education said broadening eligibility for free meals in schools and further education would give 500,000 pupils and students access to the scheme, and claimed it would lift 100,000 children out of poverty.
Students in colleges and training providers already have access to the free meals in further education scheme, provided they meet certain criteria.
At present, only students or families with a household income below £7,400 can claim free meals, a threshold education charities and unions have long criticised for barring children and young people in poverty.
The scheme is funded for 16 to 19 year olds in colleges, specialist colleges and training providers. Students aged 19 with an education health and care plan (EHCP) are also eligible.
Around 90,000 disadvantaged students in further education currently claim free meals alongside 2.1 million children in schools and 1.3 million infants through the universal infant free school meals programme.
From academic year 2026-27, all students and families in receipt of universal credit will be eligible to apply for free meals, which are currently funded at a rate of £2.61 per meal.
This year 377 further education settings received a free meals allocation, totalling nearly £37 million.
‘A truly historic moment’
Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer said: “Feeding more children every day, for free, is one of the biggest interventions we can make to put more money in parents’ pockets, tackle the stain of poverty, and set children up to learn.
“This expansion is a truly historic moment for our country.”
The announcement, ahead of next week’s spending review, follows reports the government’s wider child poverty strategy has been postponed until at least the autumn.
Liz Kendall, the work and pensions secretary, called the extension a “a downpayment on our child poverty strategy”. No date has been set for its release.
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