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Written question asked by Matt Bishop (Labour) on Thursday, 12 March 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 16 March 2026. It was answered by Olivia Bailey (Labour) on Monday, 23 March 2026 on behalf of the Department for Education.

Children: Food Poverty

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of (a) trends in the level of child morning hunger across early years, primary and secondary school settings and (b) the potential impact of child morning hunger on school readiness and attendance in the Forest of Dean constituency.

Answer

The government is committed to tackling child poverty and delivering meaningful action to support children and families. We recognise the importance of a healthy breakfast at the start of the day for pupils and the impact this can have on attendance and readiness to learn. This is why we are rolling out free breakfast clubs in every state-funded school with primary-aged pupils in England, so all children, regardless of background, can have the best start in life.

School leaders report that free breakfast clubs are improving punctuality, attendance, behaviour and concentration. Since April 2025, the programme has delivered seven million meals and offered places to almost 180,000 pupils across the country, with two of our early adopter schools located in the Forest of Dean constituency.

We are investing a further £80 million to fund approximately 2,000 additional schools between April 2026 and March 2027. We have also committed to continued funding of breakfast provision from September 2026 for secondary schools in disadvantaged areas which are currently participating in the National School Breakfast Programme.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
120552
Session
2024-26
Subjects
Children Attendance Schools Forest of Dean Food poverty
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk