Jamie Oliver calls for free school meal extension

Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has called for free school meals to be given to all children in households on Universal Credit.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today program that England has the “meanest” policy in Britain over how many children are entitled to free school meals.

Around one in five pupils – 1.7 million children – currently receive free school meals in England.

The government says there are no plans to change the criteria.

In England, all state school children up to the second grade can have free school meals during the school year.

Children aged three and over living in households receiving income-related benefits (e.g. Universal Credit) are also eligible as long as their annual household income does not exceed £7,400 after tax. Social security benefits are not included in this number.

Mr Oliver, who has long campaigned against cheap junk food, supports the Feed the Future campaign for free school meals to be extended to around 800,000 more children who are “the most vulnerable in society”.

“If you earn over £7,400 you won’t get that free school lunch, but I think we can all agree that there’s a big gap between the means test for free school lunches and universal credit,” Mr Oliver told Today.

The chef said he believes investing in free school meals for children would help the economy in the long run.

“The reality is, if you talk to the brightest minds in business, in the country, in the world, they will tell you that if you produce healthier children, you will have a more productive, more profitable country and a better GDP.”

“We know in every way, shape and form, that kids who have a decent lunch and breakfast learn better, their educational outcomes are better … but no one has taken it seriously yet.”

Health and Welfare Secretary Therese Coffey said the government would not expand the criteria for free school meals and it was important that support for families in difficulty was “targeted”.

She said if all children from Universal Credit families were allowed to get free school meals, “taxpayers might be surprised to learn that someone with £35,000 or £40,000 would suddenly be eligible”.

Mr Oliver also said England has the “meanest” free school meals policy.

In Northern Ireland, children in universal credit households earning less than £14,000 a year are entitled to free school meals. Scotland and Wales recently committed to introducing free school meals for all primary school children.

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