01 March 2023 , 00:01
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Eight out of 10 voters want the Government to widen free school meal provision as new figures show 3.7 million kids are struggling to get enough to eat.
A poll for the Food Foundation revealed 80% of people in England back free school dinners for children in households receiving Universal Credit.
The latest survey by YouGov shows support has surged since October when 72% of people supported the move.
It comes as separate research for the group found 21.6% of households with children struggled with access to food in January as cost of living pressures put the squeeze on family budgets.
This means that some 3.7 million children experienced food insecurity last month, such as skipping meals, eating less, or going hungry all day.
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London Mayor Sadiq Khan is planning to extend free school meals provision to all primary children (PA)The problem has worsened since last January, when 11.6% of households were affected.
The Mirror and the National Education Union are calling for politicians in England to follow Scotland and Wales by providing free school meals for all primary school pupils.
All children in England can get free school meals up to the end of Year 2 but after that it only applies to households on certain benefits.
Pupils living in Universal Credit families are eligible if their parents earn less than £7,400-a-year from work.
Food Foundation Executive Director Anna Taylor said: "The levels of food insecurity among children continue to be terribly concerning, and point to big holes in the Government’s safety net.
"These latest findings now show the public is overwhelmingly in favour of greater Government support for the millions of families suffering the worst effects of the cost-of-living crisis.
"By extending Free School Meals to more children in England in the next budget, the Government could deliver a policy change that is popular with voters, targeted and timely, and truly delivers on levelling up.”
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “We want to make sure as many eligible pupils as possible are claiming their free school meals and regularly consult on a range of matters with national stakeholders and local authorities.
"Since 2010 the number of children receiving a free meal at school has increased by more than two million, increasing the number of pupils who benefit from free school meals in education settings from just one in six, to over one third.
“On top of this, we have made a further investment in the National School Breakfast Programme to extend the programme for another year, backed by up to £30 million.”
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