Charities have welcomed the expansion of free school meals as a “first step” towards easing child poverty, but urged the Government to axe the two-child benefit cap as economists warned the scope of the change would be limited.
Campaigners and school leaders said the change, which will see all pupils in families that claim universal credit in England made eligible for the scheme, will relieve pressure on household budgets.
But organisations including the NSPCC, the National Children’s Bureau and Action for Children insisted the abolition of the two-child welfare rule was still needed.
Meanwhile, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) warned the expansion would “not see anything like 100,000 children lifted out of poverty next year” and that lifting the cap “would have a lower cost per child lifted out of poverty.”
The cap, which was introduced in 2017, restricts child tax credit and universal credit to two children in most households.
Hundreds of thousands more pupils across the country will be able to access means-tested free school meals when the provision is extended from September 2026, the Department for Education (DfE) announced on Thursday.
Currently, households in England on universal credit must earn below £7,400 a year (after tax and not including benefits) to qualify for free school meals.
But the Government has announced that every pupil whose household is on universal credit will have a new entitlement to free school lunches from the start of the 2026/27 academic year.
The move comes after campaigners and education leaders have called for free school meals to be extended to all children whose families are on universal credit to ease pressures on young people living in poverty.
Nearly 2.1 million pupils – almost one in four of all pupils (24.6%) – in England were eligible for free school meals in January 2024.
The DfE has said more than half a million more children are expected to benefit from a free meal every school day as a result of the expansion, and nearly £500 will be put back into parents’ pockets every year.
It suggested that the expansion will lift 100,000 children across England completely out of poverty.
Chris Sherwood, chief executive of the NSPCC, said the move was a “welcome step in the right direction” and “a lifeline for many families who are struggling to survive in this cost-of-living crisis”.
But he added: “By removing the two-child limit, the government could lift over 350,000 children out of poverty, which, if coupled with an ambitious child poverty strategy later in the year, would help tackle the crisis children are facing.”
Action for Children chief executive Paul Carberry said the changes would make a “big difference” but “by itself, it can’t deliver the bold, ambitious reduction in child poverty that the Prime Minister has promised”.
Sir Keir Starmer has indicated he is considering scrapping the two-child limit amid the prospect of a backbench rebellion over the policy, but has declined to give further details ahead of the publication of the Government’s flagship child poverty strategy in the autumn.
Mr Carberry said: “This must set out a comprehensive and funded plan to fix our inadequate social security system, beginning with the abolition of the cruel two-child limit and benefit cap.”
Announcing the change, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: “Feeding more children every day, for free, is one of the biggest interventions we can make to put more money in parents’ pockets, tackle the stain of poverty, and set children up to learn.
“This expansion is a truly historic moment for our country, helping families who need it most and delivering our Plan for Change to give every child, no matter their background, the same chance to succeed.”
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: “It is the moral mission of this government to tackle the stain of child poverty, and today this government takes a giant step towards ending it with targeted support that puts money back in parents’ pockets.
“From free school meals to free breakfast clubs, breaking the cycle of child poverty is at the heart of our Plan for Change to cut the unfair link between background and success.
“We believe that background shouldn’t mean destiny. Today’s historic step will help us to deliver excellence everywhere, for every child and give more young people the chance to get on in life.”
Anna Feuchtwang, chief executive of the National Children’s Bureau, said the expansion should be a “down payment” on further investment in addressing child poverty in the autumn.
She said it was “crucial” that the Government reconsiders its position on the two-child limit for the autumn.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said that in the long term, the change would mean free lunches for about 1.7 million additional children, but that in the short run, the announcement would benefit “considerably fewer pupils”.
Christine Farquharson, associate director at the think tank, said: “Transitional protections introduced in 2018 have substantially increased the number of children receiving free school meals today – so in the short run, today’s announcement will both cost considerably less (around £250 million a year) and benefit considerably fewer pupils (the government’s estimate is 500,000 children).
“This also means that today’s announcement will not see anything like 100,000 children lifted out of poverty next year.”
She added: “There is some evidence too that school meals can have benefits for children’s health and attainment.
“But if the government’s main interest is to reduce child poverty, there are other measures – such as lifting the two-child limit – that would have a lower cost per child lifted out of poverty.”
