Free school meals’ campaigners have urged Jeremy Hunt to back the lifeline in this week’s Budget.
A cross-party group of MPs has written to the Chancellor calling on the Government to provide the benefit for all primary school pupils in England, which the Mirror and National Education Union are fighting for, in line with promises in Wales and Scotland.
The letter, organised by Labour backbencher Zarah Sultana, is signed by MPs from the Labour, Lib Dem, Green, SNP and Alba parties, as well as Independents including Jeremy Corbyn.
It warns Mr Hunt: “Child poverty is endemic in Britain.
“The cost-of-living crisis saw the number of children living in food poverty almost double last year, now standing at nearly four million.
“This spiralling crisis is seen in our schools, with heartbreaking accounts of seven year olds stashing food from breakfast clubs for later in the day and children pretending to eat from empty lunch boxes.”
All children in England can get free school meals up to the end of Year 2 but after that it only applies to households on certain benefits.
Pupils living in Universal Credit families are eligible if their parents earn less than £7,400-a-year from work.
Around 800,000 kids living in poverty in England miss out on free dinners due to strict eligibility rules, according to the Child Poverty Action Group.
Ms Sultana said: “More and more people are recognising that extending free school meals to all children helps learning, improves health, and tackles the injustice of child poverty.”
London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who is rolling out the benefit to all primary pupils in the capital and who has signed the letter, said: “Ensuring all primary school children can eat a nutritious meal at school each day would improve the health of our next generation and support families who are struggling with the cost of living.
“I have continually called for the Government to provide free school meals to help already stretched families and remove the stigma of receiving the meals, but they have simply failed to act, despite knowing that if children don’t go hungry they are better equipped to learn.”
A Department for Education spokeswoman said: “Since 2010 the number of children receiving a free meal at school has increased by more than two million, thanks to the introduction of universal infant free school meals plus generous protections put in place as benefit recipients move across to Universal Credit.
“Over a third of pupils in England now receive free school meals in education settings, compared with one in six in 2010, and we have made a further investment in the National School Breakfast Programme to extend the programme for another year, backed by up to £30million.
“We have also acted on energy costs through the Energy Price Guarantee, saving a typical household over £900 this winter.
“The Energy Bills Support Scheme is also providing a £400 discount to millions of households this winter, and further support is available for the most vulnerable who will receive up to £1,350 in 2023/24.”
