*Update 9th Jan 2024*

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has today confirmed that all primary school children in state-funded schools in the capital will continue to get free school meals for the next academic year, providing £140million extra funding as the cost-of-living crisis continues to hit families.

Source

About time, could always be earlier but finally some good news for many, which should help around 270,000 primary school Children.

Mayor proposes to provide one-off £130m to ensure all primary schoolchildren in the capital can receive free school meals for the 2023/2024 academic year
Emergency funding would help around 270,000 primary school children and save families in London around £440 per child across the year
Given lack of Government help, Mayor steps in to support families for the next year due to the impact of the spiralling cost of living

The unprecedented move will help around 270,000 primary school children and save families around £440 per child across the year.

Sadiq – who received free school meals as a child – has repeatedly called on the Government to make the meals available to all as research has shown that hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren live in poverty but do not receive them due to the Government’s restrictive eligibility criteria and lack of universal provision. Currently a household on universal credit must earn less than £7,400 a year (after tax and not including benefits), regardless of the number of children in the family, to be eligible. This means that many children from working families in poverty aren’t entitled to free school meals.

Given the Government’s inaction, and the soaring cost of living hitting London’s families particularly hard, the Mayor has now proposed a plan to make the meals available – on a universal basis – to all of the capital’s primary schoolchildren for one full school year.

As well as saving families hundreds of pounds per child, making free school meals available to all helps reduce the stigma that can be associated with being singled out as low income, therefore boosting take-up among families who need them most. The meals are also good for children’s health as they may be the child’s main source of hot, nutritious food. By ensuring they don’t go hungry, children are better equipped to learn.

Full information is on 'Get Deal', if you wish to read up on it further.

Every London primary school pupil to get free school meals next academic year (2024/2025)

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