Academics are calling on the government to widen eligibility to include families who are not living below the poverty threshold. They warn that one in five children who do not meet the criteria are forced to skip meals due to food poverty.
Widening eligibility would also tackle the stigma attached to accessing free school meals, they said.
But, in a written response to a parliamentary question from Liberal Democrat equalities spokesperson Wera Hobhouse, Tolhurst has said the department will not reassess eligibility despite the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on families’ household bills.
She said eligibility will be kept “under review to ensure that these meals are supporting those that need them”.
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