The Government has announced that from 2026, free school meals will be offered to any child in England whose parents receive Universal Credit. It says this means 500,000 more children will qualify, as currently households must earn less than £7,400 a year to qualify.

However, some sources are reporting that the quality of school meals may be an issue and that the expansion will take several years to affect levels of child poverty.

To find out more, you can read the official press release, plus the below articles from news sources:

• Free school meal expansion in England will benefit fewer than claimed, IFS says (The Guardian)

• The Guardian view on child poverty: free school meals are a help, but not a panacea (The Guardian)

• Free school meals to be extended to 500,000 more children (BBC)