GMB welcome House of Lords decision to delay free school meal cuts with 95,613 pupils currently eligible in East of England

PoliticsSchools

GMB welcome House of Lords vote to delay change to eligibility rules for free school meals with 95,613 pupils in East of England currently eligible

This will impact the most marginalised and poorest of children many for whom this is their only hot & nutritious meal of the day, says GMB London

GMB is calling on ministers to re-think plans to cut free school meals in England after a defeat in the House of Lords. On Tuesday 21 March, peers backed a motion tabled by Labour’s Steve Bassam by just seven (167-160) to postpone the shake-up for at least six months, allowing time for a "poverty impact assessment.”

The vote comes after the Tory government, along with the DUP voted to cut free school meals in England on Tuesday 13 March. The vote in the House of Commons cut the threshold for free school meals for the children of families on Universal Credit to £7,400 per year.

In England, 14% of all primary school pupils are known to be eligible for, and are currently claiming, free school meals.

In East of England, 10.6% of pupils are known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals. The council with most children claiming school meals is Luton which currently sees 15.8% of its 38,688 pupils eligible and claiming the meals. Other councils who have a high percentage of pupils claiming free school meals include; Peterborough with 14.5%; Thurrock with 12.8%, Norfolk with 12.5%, Suffolk with 12.1%, Southend-on-Sea with 11.8%, and Essex with 10.7%.

The figures for the 11 councils in East of England are set out in the table below. This is from a new study by GMB London Region of official data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS). It compares the number of pupils on roll with the number of pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals, followed by that number as a percentage. [See notes to editors for sources and definitions]

Warren Kenny, GMB Regional Secretary said:

“On 13 March 2018 the Tory government along with the DUP voted to cut free school meals in England. This means that almost 1 million children in England will be denied a free School meal.

“This will impact the most marginalised and poorest of children many for whom this is their only hot & nutritious meal of the day. We had the Tory leader, Margaret Thatcher, take away milk from school children and now we have Theresa May taking school meals away.

“Our late President, Mary Turner, fought hard to ensure all children received free school meals. This is her legacy and as a union we must continue this fight. This is a national issue and it affords an urgent national campaign.”

ENDS

Contact: Gary Doolan 07590262504 or Colin Greer 07974 249 745 or GMB Press Office 07970 114 762

Notes to Editors

Sources and Definition

1. Source Department for Education: Schools, pupils and their characteristics: January 2017

Information collected in the January 2017 school census

2. Includes state-funded nursery schools, direct grant nursery (the single institution of this type had not been included in this table in recent years) and middle/all through schools, city technology colleges and all secondary academies, including free schools, university technical colleges and studio schools, non-maintained special schools, special academies and special free schools, Pupil Referral Units And Alternative Provision Academies And Free Schools

3. Includes all primary academies, including free schools.

Further information available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/650547/SFR28_2017_Main_Text.pdf