Free School Meals

No child in this country should go hungry, especially whilst at school, where the focus should be on learning, development, and opportunity.

I have consistently campaigned for the rights of children and families and am concerned by the number of children living in poverty. My Liberal Democrat parliamentary colleagues and I have urged the Government to address this issue. We introduced universal infant free school meals, ensuring that every child in primary schools in England had access to a healthy lunch. This was not only a significant step forward in ensuring children had the energy to focus and learn in the afternoon, but it also saved parents money and helped reduce inequality in access to nutritious food.

The previous Conservative Government failed to provide adequate funding for free school meals. Funding for free school meals has increased by just 11p per meal in the last decade. This has put schools in a difficult position, with governors having to choose between raising prices for those who still pay for meals or cutting back on vital teaching resources.

In the House of Lords, we tabled an amendment to the Schools Bill to reverse these real-terms cuts to free school meals funding. Unfortunately, the amendment was defeated. However, in April 2025, discussions in the House of Lords highlighted initiatives like the Mayor of London’s program providing free meals to all state primary school children and the importance of local authorities facilitating access to free school meals for eligible children, but more needs to be done.

We remain committed to pushing for universal free school meals for all primary school children.