Mr Clive Betts – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mr Clive Betts on 2013-05-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he plans to consult on eligibility for free school meals ahead of the introduction of universal credit.

Mr David Laws

We are working very closely with other departments, including the Cabinet Office and the Department for Work and Pensions, to simplify free school meals criteria under universal credit, while ensuring that free lunches continue to be available to the families who need them most. These discussions, which include consideration of a phased implementation timetable, are in recognition of the significant number and complexity of passported benefits across Government, most of which have different eligibility criteria.

We will allow good time to enable schools, local authorities and children’s charities to comment on our proposals before we introduce new entitlement criteria for free school meals under universal credit.