Skip to main content

Written question asked by Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat) on Thursday, 9 July 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 13 July 2026. It was answered by Paul Waugh (Labour) on Tuesday, 4 August 2026 on behalf of the Department for Education.


Free School Meals

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate they have made of the number of children eligible for free school meals who are not registered to receive them.

Answer

The department only collects data on pupils who are both eligible for and claiming free school meals. Children not claiming free school meals could be eligible or ineligible to claim them. As a result, no recent estimate has been made of the number of children eligible for but not registered to receive free school meals.


Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
17467
Session
2026-27
Subjects
Free school meals
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk