Thousands more Stockport children could qualify for free school meals under a £1.9m plan voted through by councillors. Currently only households on Universal Credit with an income of less that £7,400 per year are entitled to means-tested free school meals.
But a Labour proposal approved by the full council on Thursday extends this to families who receive housing benefit or council tax support. It is estimated there are more than 3,600 children living in Stockport households that receive this help who do not get free school meals.
Provided the carried motion is incorporated into budget proposals for the 2023/24 financial year, it would come into effect from June and provide £500 support per child over 12 months. The package would be paid for by one-off funding and is intended to ‘significantly help’ families’ during the cost-of-living crisis.
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