By region: number of children in poverty not eligible for free school meals

New CPAG analysis shows number of children in poverty in each region missing out on free school meals as cost of living crisis bites

As schools in England start to go back, new analysis from Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) shows the number of children in each region who are living in poverty but don’t qualify for free school meals because the eligibility criteria is so restrictive.

With the cost of living crisis hitting low-income families hardest, offering free school meals to more children is needed more than ever. The charity is calling for an urgent extension of free school meals to all families in receipt of Universal Credit or equivalent benefits, and for England to move towards universal provision for all children, as is the case in Scotland and Wales.

Previous analysis from CPAG showed that across England, 800,000 children in poverty (1 in 3 school age children) miss out on any form of free school meals. This new piece of analysis breaks down these children by region.

These figures show that there are thousands of children in poverty all over the country who miss out on free school meals. This means children are at risk of going to school hungry, a situation which is only going to worsen this winter.

Sara Ogilvie, Policy Director at Child Poverty Action Group, said: 

“The start of a new school year should be a time of excitement as children prepare to reunite with their friends and restart their learning. But families up and down the country are instead dreading the colder and shorter days ushered in by September, with rocketing costs stretching their budgets to breaking point. In this context, it cannot be right that more children in poverty will be at risk of going hungry at school despite their parents’ best efforts to provide for them. We must move towards the path set by Scotland and Wales and ensure that every child in England can get a free, nutritious meal at school every day.”  

To be eligible for free school meals, a household on universal credit in England must earn less than £7,400 a year (after tax and not including benefits), regardless of the number of children in the family. This low threshold means that many children from working families in poverty aren’t entitled to free school meals, despite their parents being unable to meet the costs of food.

Notes: 

• Methodology: 

The poverty measure used is relative after housing costs (AHC). The estimated number of children in poverty who missed out on FSM was calculated using Households Below Average Income 2017/18-2019/20. From that survey data, entitlement can be calculated based on the earnings of the household and the various eligibility criteria for different means-tested benefits, accounting for the migration of households on to universal credit. These figures can then be compared to pupils known to be eligible for free school meals by region, England, 2020/21.

There will be some households who currently earn above the eligibility criteria but because of transitional protection on universal credit, they are still eligible for FSM. The number of these households was calculated using data on the share of FSM eligible pupils in Wales who are covered by transitional protection (similar data does not exist publicly in England). Understanding Society was then used to estimate the number of these households who are above and below the poverty line.

It is important to note that the poverty figures are not from 2020/21 HBAI as the reduced sample means substantial uncertainty around the estimate, it also covers a period where emergency COVID social security measures reduced poverty temporarily. Now these measures have been lifted, the poverty rate has risen to around pre-COVID levels (see Resolution Foundation’s Living Standards Outlook 2022 for more details). 
Children not covered by means-tested FSM but covered by universal infant FSM are not included in the 800,000 as they are receiving free lunches.

• Note on free school meals in England:

In England, all children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 currently receive a free meal each day (this is referred to as universal infant free school meals or UIFSM). After that, provision of free school meals is means-tested, with the threshold to get free school meals being a combined household income of £7,400 or less before benefits. 

• Note on transitional protection:

Since 1 April 2018, transitional protections have been in place which will continue during the roll out of Universal Credit. This has meant that pupils eligible for free school meals on or after 1 April 2018 retain their free school meals eligibility even if their circumstances change. If a child is eligible for free school meals, they’ll remain eligible until they finish the phase of schooling (primary or secondary) they’re in on 31 March 2023.