Alison Hume, MP for Scarborough and Whitby, has welcomed the Labour government’s move to provide free school meals for over half a million more children.
Labour says up to 4,160 school pupils across the Scarborough and Whitby constituency will now be entitled to receive a free nutritious meal every school day, following Friday's announcement that eligibility will be extended to every child within Years 3 to 11 living in a household on Universal Credit.
The expansion of the free school meal programme will lift 100,000 children in England completely out of poverty and puts £500 back into parents’ pockets every year.
Ms Hume said:
“I know from the doorstep, surgeries and casework how much the stain of child poverty has impacted families in Scarborough, Whitby and the villages.
“That’s why I fully support and welcome this decisive and much-needed action to expand entitlement to free school meals.
“Children across Scarborough and Whitby deserve the best start in life.
“I’m proud Labour is delivering this through our Plan for Change.”
“This is a game-changer for families on Universal Credit who now don’t have to worry about finding the money to pay for school dinners for their children.”
The change, which takes effect at the start of the 2026 school year, is designed to break down barriers to opportunity and applies to children in all settings where free school meals are currently delivered.
It comes on top of the free breakfast club programme, which Ms Hume witnessed first hand during a visit to Fylingdales School last month.
Since 2018, children have only been eligible for free school meals if their household income is below £7,400 a year.
Pupils in reception, as well as years one and two, already receive them under existing provision.
Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall said:
“Poverty robs children of opportunities and damages their future prospects.
“This is a moral scar on our society we are committed to tackling.
“By expanding free school meals to all families on Universal Credit, we’re ending the impossible choice thousands of our hardest grafting families must make between paying bills and feeding their children.”
The Liberal Democrats said the government should go further with the plans and speaking at Prime Minister's Questions, on Wednesday, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch accused Kier Starmer of causing confusion.
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