Despite recent media speculation to the contrary, I can assure you the Prime Minister has publicly stated his commitment to Free School Meals in England. This is something we committed to clearly in our manifesto, and I am very proud that this important scheme will continue.
Every child in the first three years of school is eligible for a free school meal. This will help every child from every background get the best possible start in life and I am glad these children will be able to sit down to a healthy lunch with their classmates every day.
Over £1 billion has been provided by the Government to meet the costs of the meals over the next two years and £150 million of capital has been made available to schools and local authorities to help them build new kitchens or increase dining capacity where necessary. A further £22.5 million has been provided specifically to help smaller schools provide free school meals and a dedicated support service has also been set up to offer advice and help.
The legislation introducing universal free school meals for infants has a power to extend the policy to additional year groups in future, meaning this is an area that can be kept under review going forward.