Daily roundup: Free school meals, single parents and school sports

Councils will be forced to abandon free school meals for disadvantaged children because of acute budget cuts, a think-tank has warned. A report by the New Local Government Network warned that local authorities will lose 50 per cent of their spending power over six years. The Independent reports the cuts may lead councils to encourage schools to convert to academies and reduce funding for special educational needs.

Single-parent families make up half of the 40,000 to be hit by a benefit cap, the Times reports. The £500 weekly benefit limit, introduced in four London boroughs yesterday, will affect all social security payments including child benefit, income support and jobseeker’s allowance. According to government data, 75 per cent of affected families will have more than two children. Fiona Weir, chief executive of single-parent charity Gingerbread, said: “The cap doesn’t begin to tackle the underlying problems of the shortage of low-cost social housing and the difficulties that single parents face in finding family-friendly jobs, affording childcare and making work pay.” The scheme will be launched nationally between July and September.

A group of MPs is to probe how the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games have influenced school sport. The education select committee has asked teachers to give their views on school sport through an online survey. The result of the research will inform the committee’s inquiry into the matter.