In a new report, the Education Committee, made up of cross-party MPs, calls for the Government to use the Bill to legislate for auto-enrolment of free school meals (FSM) for eligible children. Currently parents whose children are entitled to FSM have to apply for the benefit, but experts told the Committee that because of this 1 in 10 children are missing out because of language barriers or ‘difficulty with the admin process’.
Children aged four to 16 may be entitled to FSM if their parents or carers receive income-related benefits such as Universal Credit. FSM is different to universal infant free school meals, where all children receive free school dinners from Reception to Year 2.
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