Education and Skills written question – answered at on 5 April 2005.
Mr Kevin McNamara
Labour, Kingston upon Hull North
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the percentage of school meals provided free at the point of delivery is in (a) England and (b) Hull; what percentage of pupils in primary schools eat school meals in (i) England and (ii)Hull; and if she will make a statement.
Derek Twigg
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education and Skills) (Schools)
The available information is shown in the table. Information on pupils taking school meals is not collected centrally.
| Maintained nursery and primary | Maintained secondary | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | Kingston Upon Hull LEA | England | Kingston Upon Hull LEA | |
| Number on roll | 4,293,180 | 23,760 | 3,326,800 | 16,220 |
| Number of pupils taking free school meals(4) | 608,760 | 4,740 | 351,380 | 2,620 |
| Percentage of pupils taking free school meals | 14.2 | 19.9 | 10.6 | 16.2 |
| Number of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals | 741,150 | 6,150 | 477,290 | 3,840 |
| Percentage of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals | 17.3 | 25.9 | 14.3 | 23.7 |
(1)Includes middle schools as deemed.
(2)Includes dually registered pupils and boarding pupils.
(3)Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.
(4)Pupils known to be eligible for free school meals that had a free meal on the Census day.
Source:
Annual Schools' Census
Pupils are recorded as being eligible for free school meals if a claim has been made by them or on their behalf by parents and either the relevant authority has confirmed their eligibility or the school or LEA have seen the necessary documentation. Eligibility requires the parent (or pupil) to be in receipt of either income support, or income-based jobseekers allowance, or support under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, or Child Tax credit but not working tax credit and have an annual income (as assessed by the Inland Revenue) that does not exceed for 2003–04 Tax Year £13,480.
Section 512 of the Education Act 1996 (EA96), amended by section 201 of the Education Act 2002, places a duty on local education authorities to provide free school lunches to eligible pupils. (A similar duty is transferred to the governing body of any school that has had the budget for school lunches delegated to them).
Children, whose parents receive the following support payments, are entitled to a free school lunch:
Income support (IS);
Income-based jobseekers allowance (IBJSA);
Support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999;
Child tax credit, provided they are not entitled to working tax credit and have an annual income, as assessed by the Inland Revenue, that does not exceed 13,480 (2004–05).
Children who receive IS or IBJSA in their own right are also entitled to free school lunches.
For information on Wales I refer the right hon. Member to the Welsh Assembly.
Yes2 people think so
No2 people think not
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