Free meals for 270,000 low-income London pupils to cope with high cost of living

London mayor Sadiq Khan has announced free school meals for primary schoolers in the British capital to help families cope with the increased cost of living.

A £130 million (S$210 million) emergency fund will be spent on feeding around 270,000 primary schoolers, starting from the next academic year in September. The move is expected to shave around £440 off food expenses per child for each family across the year.

Mr Khan said: “I am stepping forward with an emergency £130m scheme that will ensure every single primary pupil in the capital receives free school meals. This will save families hundreds of pounds over the year, ensuring parents aren’t worrying about how they are going to feed their children.

“It will also guarantee every primary school pupil a healthy, nutritious meal – meaning they don’t go hungry in the classroom and can better concentrate on their studies.” 

Mr Khan also cited his personal experience of depending on financial subsidies as a child growing up, and how it helped to lessen the financial burden on his parents.

Currently, for children to be eligible for free school meals, their families must be receiving universal credit – a basic government allowance to help low-income households defray living expenses. To be eligible for universal credit, families must earn less than £7,400 a year, after tax and without any benefits, regardless of the number of children in the household.

This means that many children from low-income families will not be eligible for free school meals.

Ms Anna Taylor, executive director of The Food Foundation, said: “We applaud London’s mayor for taking timely action to support families fighting the cost of living by ensuring every primary school pupil gets a nutritious lunch, no matter their background.

“This is a monumental step forward for safeguarding children’s diets, well-being and learning across the capital. However, outside of London, hundreds of thousands of children living in poverty still don’t qualify for a free school meal.”

She added that the central government should be equally as committed by investing in free school meal expansion for every community in the upcoming Budget.

The cost of living in the UK has increased since early 2021. The annual rate of inflation reached 11.1 per cent in October 2022 – its highest in 41 years – before easing to 10.7 per cent in November and then 10.5 per cent in December 2022, according to the UK Parliament website.

The inflation affects the affordability of goods and services for households.

Additionally, banks have also increased their interest rates by 4 per cent, the highest in 14 years, the BBC reported on Feb 16.

The soaring cost of living and energy has been attributed to the Covid-19 pandemic and also the Russia-Ukraine war.

Mr Khan added: “Supporting London’s families through this cost-of-living crisis and helping ensure our children are properly fed is vital as we continue striving to build a better London for everyone – a city that is fairer, safer and more prosperous for all.”