Automating free school meal (FSM) provision for all eligible pupils could generate “tens of millions of pounds in extra pupil premium funding for schools”, councils have said.
The Local Government Association (LGA), which represents local councils, also warned that, currently, nearly a quarter of a million children are missing out on FSM worth nearly £500 per child.
This comes after an analysis by the Liberal Democrats last year warned that 234,500 children entitled to FSM in England may not be registered for them.
The Department for Education has previously admitted that more than one in 10 pupils who are eligible for FSM are not registered for them.
According to the LGA, in addition to the almost quarter of a million pupils missing out on FSM, there are a further estimated 800,000 children living in poverty who are not entitled to FSM because their household income is just above the eligible £7,400 annual income threshold.
The LGA has today called for the process for parents and guardians to sign up their children for FSM to be streamlined.
It said this would allow the system to capture those children who already meet the criteria to “ensure no child goes without at least one hot nutritious meal a day”.
It said that automatic enrolment, instead of parents applying to their local authority or through their child’s academy, could benefit the estimated 11 per cent of eligible school children who have not yet taken up the offer.
The LGA added: “This, in turn, would generate tens of millions of pounds in vital extra pupil premium funding for schools, which is allocated based on the number of agreed FSM applications per school.”
Generating extra pupil premium funding for schools would also help to narrow the attainment gap between children from disadvantaged backgrounds and their peers, the association added.
The eligibility threshold for FSM has remained unchanged since 2018 and the LGA has called for an “urgent review” of the current income threshold.
The latest published statistics show that around 1.9 million pupils are claiming benefits related to FSM.
Currently, universal infant FSM are available for all government-funded schools, offering free meals to pupils in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2, but not those in later years in primary school.
Beyond this, free meals are available to those on various benefits, however, those on universal credit in the pupil’s household must have an income of less than £7,400 a year to qualify.
Councillor Pete Marland, chair of the LGA’s Resources Board, said that FSM are “a vital lifeline for families who are struggling to make ends meet, just as food prices continue to rise”.
He added that food inflation is “at its highest for almost half a century and this is hitting the poorest households hardest”.
Councillor Marland said: “Automating the process will help relieve this financial burden, freeing up family budgets and improving the next generation’s health, education and prospects.
“The government should see this as an investment in our children’s future, to help them and their families get through this cost-of-living crisis and come out of it stronger, healthier and more secure”.
The government has been approached for a comment.
