Keir Starmer has unveiled plans to extend free lunches to all kids in families who get Universal Credit in England – check how many kids could be eligible in your area
More than half a million children will become eligible for free school meals from next year after an expansion of eligibility rules.
Keir Starmer has unveiled plans to extend the lifeline benefit to all kids in families who get Universal Credit (UC) in England, in a move that could save parents up to £500 a year.
Currently, all children in England can get free school meals until the end of Year 2 but after that they only qualify if their family earns less than £7,400 a year after benefits.
In a huge expansion, from September 2026, all children in UC households will be able to get a free lunch. A large proportion of kids on UC already receive free school meals as their household’s income falls below the £7,400 threshold point. But some 500,000 more kids will now be eligible, according to the Government’s estimates.
You can use our digital map to see the number of kids who live in UC households by constituency, as an estimate for how many kids will be eligible for free school meals across the country.
Our digital map uses the most recent data available, which was published in November. Figures are subject to change ahead of the announcement coming into force in September next year. The data does not include infants who receive free lunches at nurseries.
Writing in the Mirror, Keir Starmer said: “I want every child to have every opportunity and the best support to aim high, achieve good grades, and get the best education possible. That starts with the basics – it’s common sense that children can’t do well at school if they’re hungry.”
Pressed today if he would scrap the two-child benefit limit, to lift more kids out of poverty, the Prime Minister said: “I would say this (free school meals expansion) is a down payment on child poverty.
“We’ve got a task force. It’ll come out with a strategy… I want to get to the root causes of child poverty. One of the greatest things the last Labour government (did) was to drive down child poverty. I’m determined we will do that.”
READ MORE: Major change to free school meal rules unveiled – saving parents up to £500
He said Thursday’s announcement was part of a broader package of provisions including breakfast clubs, “so it needs to be seen within that group of measures”. Mr Starmer added: “But yes, it’s a down payment on what I want to do in relation to child poverty.”
Campaigners and unions hailed the decision to widen free school meal provision as a “game changer” for families struggling with cost of living pressures. Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “No child should ever have to go hungry due to their parents’ financial circumstances.”
During a debate in the Commons today, MPs raised fears that already squeezed budgets would be put under further pressure by the free school meals announcement.
Liberal Democrat MP Lisa Smart, a school governor, said: “School budgets are stretched to the limit. Could the minister explain what he means when he says fully funded? Does that mean fully funded from existing school budgets?”
Education minister Stephen Morgan said: “We currently spend over £1.5billion on school food annually, delivering free school meals to around 3.5 million children. We will set out further details on the funding as part of our wider child poverty strategy in due course.”
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