Currently children are only eligible for free school meals if their parents are in receipt of benefits including income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, Child Tax Credit and universal credit – if household income is less than £7,400 a year (after tax and not including any additional benefits).
It is urging the Government to review the current £7,400 income threshold, which it says has remained unchanged since its introduction in 2018, to reach more children who are on the ‘cusp’ of experiencing food poverty as household budgets are squeezed by rising prices and inflation.
The LGA , which represents councils across England, also wants the sign-up process for the scheme to be simplified – by doing this and extending the scheme, it says more than a million additional children would qualify for free school meals.
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