- New entitlement to free schools meals for all children in Portsmouth in household on Universal Credit
- Delivers on Plan for Change to break down barriers to opportunity by driving better behaviour, attainment and wellbeing in schools while putting nearly £500 in parents’ pockets
- Labour’s historic move will lift 100,000 children out of poverty and support parents in decisive action to improve lives ahead of Child Poverty Strategy
- Comes alongside more than £13 million to ensure food that might have been left in fields instead ends up on the plates of those who need it, including school children
Portsmouth MP Stephen Morgan has backed Labour government’s plans to deliver a free nutritious meal every school day for over half a million more children, as Labour puts £500 back into parents’ pockets every year by expanding eligibility for free school meals.
From the start of the 2026 school year, every pupil in Portsmouth whose household is on Universal Credit will have a new entitlement to free school meals.
The city MP, who is also the Minister for Early Education, announced the government’s plans in a Ministerial Statement in the House of Commons today. In his statement, Mr Morgan said:
“Growing up in Fratton, I saw first hand the devastating impact poverty can have on a child in Portsmouth, with friends coming to school hungry and not ready to learn.
“That’s why I’m proud to stand here today as we offer a helping hand to ensure every child, whatever their background or wherever they’re from, achieves and thrives.”
The unprecedented expansion will lift 100,000 children across England completely out of poverty.
This will make life easier and more affordable for parents who struggle the most, delivering on Labour’s Plan for Change to break down barriers to opportunity and give children the best start in life.
Giving children the access to a nutritious meal during the school day also leads to higher attainment, improved behaviour and better outcomes – meaning they get the best possible education and chance to succeed in work and life.
Since 2018, children have only been eligible for free school meals if their household income is less than £7,400 per year, meaning hundreds of thousands of children living in poverty has been unable to access free school meals.
Labour’s historic new expansion to those on Universal Credit will change this and comes ahead of the Child Poverty Taskforce publishing its ten-year-strategy to drive sustainable change later this year.
It comes on top of targeted support for families being hit the hardest with the cost-of-living crisis, with urgent action including raising the national minimum wage, uprating benefits and supporting 700,000 families through the Fair Repayment Rate on Universal Credit deductions.
Commenting, Portsmouth South MP Stephen Morgan said:
“Child poverty has been on the rise in recent years and I’ve seen the impact of this on families here in Portsmouth and across the country.
“That’s why today’s decisive decision to expand the number of children eligible for free school meals was so needed. It will take children in Portsmouth out of poverty and save local parents up to £500 every year.
“It will also drive higher attainment, improved behaviour and better outcomes for Portsmouth children, breaking down their barriers to opportunity.
“I am determined to ensure every child in Portsmouth gets the best start in life and I’m proud the government is delivering this through our Plan for Change.”
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said:
“Working parents across the country are working tirelessly to provide for their families but are being held back by cost-of-living pressures.
“My government is taking action to ease those pressures. 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.”
Labour is also offering more than £13 million in funding to 12 food charities across England to redistribute thousands of tonnes of fresh produce directly from farms to fight food poverty in communities.
The Tackling Food Surplus at the Farm Gate scheme is helping farms and organisations to work collaboratively to ensure edible food that might have been left in fields instead ends up on the plates of those who need it, including schoolchildren. This comes as part of Labour’s wider Food Strategy, helping to drive change and support a healthier, more sustainable and resilient food system.
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.
“This is just the latest step of our Plan for Change to put extra pounds in people’s pockets – a downpayment on our Child Poverty Strategy, building on our expansion of free breakfast clubs, our national minimum wage boost and our cap on Universal Credit deductions through the Fair Repayment Rate.”
To ensure quality and nutrition in meals for the future, Labour is also acting quickly with experts across the sector to revise the School Food Standards, so every school is supported with the latest nutrition guidance.
This new entitlement will apply to children in all settings where free school meals are currently delivered, including schools, school-based nurseries and Further Education settings.
The Departmnet for Education expect the majority of schools will allow parents to apply before the start of the school year 2026, by providing their National Insurance Number to check their eligibility.
Schools and local authorities will continue to receive pupil premium and home to school transport extended rights funding based on the existing free school meals threshold.
This is just the latest step in Labour’s Plan for Change to break the unfair link between background and opportunity, including rolling out free breakfast clubs, expanding government-funded childcare to 30 hours a week for working parents and commitment to cap the number of branded school uniform items.
From April 2026 until the end of parliament, millions of households are set to receive a permanent yearly above inflation boost to Universal Credit.
The increase, a key element of the Government’s welfare reforms to be laid before Parliament, will tackle the destitution caused by years of inaction that has left the value of the standard allowance at a 40 year low by the early 2020s.
