Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi announced that funding to provide healthy school meals for pupils in years one and two will increase from £2.34 to £2.41 per meal, backdated to 1 April.
The funding increase, which totals £18m per year, has been agreed “in recognition of the rising cost of living”, according to DfE.
However, organisations supporting families facing food poverty, have said that the uplift does not match rising inflation and will “do little” to improve the quality of food in schools.
Kate Anstey, head of the cost of the school day project at the Child Poverty Action Group, said: “Nobody is going to turn down today’s offers of increased support with meals, but they’re just tweaks and won’t make the kind of difference that kids need to see.”
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