Scotland and Wales have promised Free School Meals to all primary school children, why can’t England, campaigners ask?

As calls grow for the government to implement the policy nationwide to help lift children out of poverty, Labour continues to face criticism for its controversial decision to maintain the two-child benefit cap.

As the new school year approaches, calls for free school meals for all primary school children in England are mounting. Thousands have signed a letter addressed to the Prime Minister, entitled “Free School Meals for All.”

The letter, initiated by No Child Left Behind – a campaign focused on breaking down the barriers that poverty creates around equal access to education – and the National Education Union (NEU), highlights the severity of the situation, how, in 2023, four million children in the UK lived in households where food was scarce. It describes child hunger in schools as an “epidemic.”

The authors argue that providing free school meals for every child would relieve financial pressure on parents, allowing them to afford other essentials for their children, such as heating, food at home, hobbies, and after-school activities. The letter goes on to explain how teachers and support staff witness firsthand the positive impact of a healthy school lunch. “When children are hungry, they can’t learn. It’s hard for them to concentrate and harder for them to reach their potential. Free School Meals for all would mean every child can learn and succeed,” the letter states.

The campaign also points out that while Wales and Scotland have already committed to providing free school meals for all primary school children, England is lagging behind. In 2020, Scotland pledged to extend free school meals to all primary school children, and Wales followed suit in 2021. “It is time for England to catch up,” it states.

The campaign has gained support from numerous celebrities, including Olivia Colman, Brian Cox, and Ed Sheeran, as well as hundreds of civil society leaders such as Michael McGregor, CEO of 38 Degrees, and Cathy Evans, CEO of Children England. Additionally, over 40 different faith communities, numerous councillors and mayors, more than 40 MPs and Lords, various sports bodies, and public health organisations have backed the initiative.

Keir Starmer is facing increasing pressure to adopt the free meals policy nationwide, especially since London Mayor Sadiq Khan announced that all primary pupils in the capital will receive free school meals for a year starting in September. But Starmer has so far refused to commit to supporting free school meals for all primary school children.

As calls grow for the government to implement the policy nationwide to help lift children out of poverty, Labour continues to face criticism for its controversial decision to maintain the two-child benefit cap. This policy, originally introduced by David Cameron’s Conservative government, was intended to discourage families on benefits from having more children than they could financially support, based on the idea that “hard-working families” often struggle to afford larger families. Many see Labour’s decision to uphold the cap as a betrayal of traditional Labour values and human rights principles.

In a strong critique of the government’s continuation of the policy, Dr. Emily Ball, a lecturer in Social Policy and Social Research Methods at the University of Birmingham, argues that the cap is just one of “many strands of welfare reform that are sold to the public as fair, when in reality they do little more than sit pretty on an ideologically conservative soapbox.”  Dr Ball writes: “The continued shedding of Labour’s image as the ‘spending party’ should not take precedence over the cruelty of the two-child cap and the responsibility for helping a generation of children who will grow up with their needs not being met.”