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ALL PUPILS IN ENGLAND WHOSE FAMILIES CLAIM UNIVERSAL CREDIT WILL GET FREE SCHOOL MEALS 22:30, 04 Jun 2025 Families claiming Universal Credit will be eligible for free school meals under an
expansion of the Government-funded support. All pupils in England whose families claim the benefit from the Department for Work and Pensions ( DWP ) will qualify. The Department for
Education (DfE) said hundreds of thousands more children across the country will be able to access means-tested free school meals when it is extended from September 2026. Currently,
households in England on Universal Credit must earn below £7,400 a year - after tax and not including benefits - to qualify for free school meals. But the Government has said that every
pupil whose family in claiming Universal Credit will receive free school lunches from the start of the 2026/27 academic year. The move comes after campaigners and education leaders called
for free school meals to be extended to all children whose families are on Universal Credit to ease pressures on young people living in poverty. Article continues below READ MORE: HMRC
URGENT WARNING AS 100,000 TAXPAYERS 'TO BE CONTACTED IN NEXT THREE WEEKS' Almost 2.1 million pupils – nearly one in four of all pupils (24.6%) – in England were eligible for free
school meals in January 2024. The DfE said more than half-a-million more children are expected to benefit from a free meal every school day due to the expansion. Nearly £500 will be put back
into parents’ pockets every year, it added. According to the department, the expansion will lift 100,000 children across England completely out of poverty. 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, helping families who need it most and delivering our Plan for Change to give every child, no matter their
background, the same chance to succeed." Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: "It is the moral mission of this government to tackle the stain of child poverty, and today
this government takes a giant step towards ending it with targeted support that puts money back in parents’ pockets. "From free school meals to free breakfast clubs, breaking the cycle
of child poverty is at the heart of our Plan for Change to cut the unfair link between background and success. "We believe that background shouldn’t mean destiny. "Today’s historic
step will help us to deliver excellence everywhere, for every child and give more young people the chance to get on in life." The Government’s child poverty taskforce is due to publish
its 10-year strategy later this year. _Don't miss the biggest and breaking stories by signing up to the BirminghamLive newsletter here._ Nick Harrison, chief executive of the Sutton
Trust social mobility charity, said: "This is a significant step towards taking hunger out of the classroom. "Children can’t learn effectively when hungry, so this announcement not
only helps to tackle the effects of child poverty, but will also likely help improve education outcomes for disadvantaged young people. "Giving free school meals to all families who
are eligible for universal credit is also easier for parents to understand, so has the potential to increase take-up rates." Kate Anstey, head of education policy at the Child Poverty
Action Group (CPAG) charity, said: "This is fantastic news and a game-changer for children and families. "At last, more kids will get the food they need to learn and thrive and
millions of parents struggling to make ends meet will get a bit of breathing space. "We hope this is a sign of what’s to come in autumn’s child poverty strategy, with government taking
more action to meet its manifesto commitment to reduce child poverty in the UK." Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said:
"There’s some detail to be worked through on exactly how this transition will work and we look forward to talking with the Government about that. "But, certainly, expanding free
school meal eligibility in this way is absolutely the right thing to do." Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), said: "We join families and
schools across England in welcoming this necessary and overdue first step in expanding free school meals eligibility. "The existing threshold had been unchanged since 2018, meaning
hundreds of thousands of children in poverty were missing out on the nutrition they need to thrive." But he said that many children in families who just miss out on being eligible for
Universal Credit will also 'miss out on a hot, healthy school meal'. Article continues below Mr Kebede added: "Ensuring that a free school meal is available to all children is
the next urgent step that must be taken."