The Government said the change will come into force from September and will mean half a million more children will get a free lunch.
Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary, said the decision was a “giant step towards” ending child poverty and described the decision as “targeted support that puts money back in parents’ pockets”.
Many more eligible
At present, only those with a family income of less than £7,400 per year have been able to access free school meals. That threshold has remained the same since 2018, meaning fewer and fewer children have been entitled to a free lunch.
However, there have been transitional protections since then, so anyone who has previously been eligible for the meals continued to receive them even if family income rose. This protection ended on 31 March this year.
Meals for children in infant classes – from reception to Year 3 at primary school – are free for everyone.
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Think tank the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said the decision to widen the criteria would cost about £1bn (in today’s prices) and benefit 1.7 million children between Year 3 and Year 11.
However, in the short term, the effect will be lower and cost less, because so many children have been on free school meals due to transitional protection who would not be eligible under the £7,400 cap.
In the short term, the IFS said the move will cost £250m per year and benefit 500,000 children.
Christine Farquharson, associate director at the IFS, said: “The long-run impact would see around 100,000 children lifted out of poverty.”
She said the decision was better targeted than making school meals free for all, which had been another possible Government policy.
“This is a group who are on low, though not the very lowest, incomes – so compared to making free school meals universal, the policy announced today will be both cheaper and more targeted towards poorer families.
“There is some evidence, too, that school meals can have benefits for children’s health and attainment,” she added.
Other, cheaper solutions
The move will cost around £500 per child lifted out of poverty.
However, Farquharson added that there were other measures that would have a lower cost per child lifted out of poverty, such as lifting the two-child limit on child benefits.
Charities welcomed the change, which comes ahead of a bigger review on how to eradicate child poverty in the autumn.
The Child Poverty Action Group said it was “fantastic news and a game-changer for children and families”.
Kate Anstey, the charity’s head of education policy, said: “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.”
