CliffNotes
- Free school meals extended to half a million more kids by 2026
- It’s part of a major expansion aimed at tackling child poverty
- The plan could lift 1000,000 children out of poverty
Free School Meals Extended to Half a Million More Children by 2026
What Happened
The UK government has announced that 500,000 more children in England will become eligible for free school meals from September 2026, as part of a major expansion aimed at tackling child poverty. From that date, any family receiving Universal Credit—regardless of income—will qualify. Currently, parents must earn less than £7,400 a year after tax to be eligible.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer described the move as a way to “help families who need it most,” while the Department for Education has pledged £1 billion to fund the changes through 2029. The plan is expected to save families £500 a year and claims to lift 100,000 children out of poverty.
The announcement comes amid increasing pressure on Labour over its child poverty strategy—especially around the controversial two-child benefit cap, which ministers have yet to decide on. Meanwhile, the government also revealed £13 million in funding for food charities to help redistribute surplus farm produce and combat hunger.
What Next
The policy won’t kick in until autumn 2026, and campaigners are urging the government to go further before then. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) praised the move as cheaper than universal meals but warned it may not lift as many children out of poverty as advertised. They also highlighted that auto-enrolment—rather than relying on parents to apply—would ensure no child eligible misses out.
The announcement also ramps up attention on the upcoming child poverty strategy, due this autumn, and the 11 June spending review, where the fate of policies like the two-child benefit cap may be decided. That cap, introduced in 2015, is under scrutiny for pushing families into poverty, with Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson acknowledging the harm but warning of its cost to remove.
Some MPs, including Liberal Democrat Munira Wilson, say the government must also cap uniform costs and introduce auto-enrolment to make a real difference. Currently, 2.1 million children (around 25% of pupils in England) receive free school meals, but many more may be missing out due to language barriers or bureaucratic hurdles.