With families struggling amid the cost of living crisis there are calls for more parents to be able to access free school meals.
Currently only pupils whose parents are in receipt of benefits including income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, Child Tax Credit and Universal Credit – and whose remaining household income is less than £7,400 a year - are eligible to make a claim.
But with costs spiralling for families, the Local Government Association wants to government to review that figure, which was introduced in 2018, 'in order to reach more children who are on the cusp of experiencing food poverty as household budgets are squeezed by rising prices and inflation'.
