Labour dismisses free school meals for all children

Labour has rejected the policy to provide free school meals for all children if it wins the general election.

According to The Times, the party does not wish to make the commitment to provide free school meals in all state primary schools in England in its general election manifesto, despite ongoing pilots in London and Wales running currently.

It is estimated it would cost the government £1b per year to provide free to school meals to primary-aged children in England. Children in reception and year one and two can apply for free meals currently, but are only eligible after that age if a household is earning less than £7,400 a year, which excludes thousands of children whose parents claim Universal Credit.

A Labour spokesperson told The Times: “This is not Labour policy and we have no plans to implement it. Labour recognises the cost of living crisis that families are facing across the country. That’s why our policy of universal free breakfast clubs for primary school pupils will make a big difference to families facing financial pressure while giving children the best start to their day.”

In February it was announced that every primary school pupil in London is to receive free school meals for the next academic year after Sadiq Khan put forward £130m worth of emergency funding. Free school meals are also being introduced for primary schools in Wales and are already available in Scotland.

But funding for free school meals in England has not kept pace with inflation and since 2014, the per-meal funding rate has lost 16% of its value in real terms, according to Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS).