Schools: Food Banks

Department for Education written question – answered at on 23 May 2019.

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Photo of Jim Cunningham Jim Cunningham Labour, Coventry South

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number of schools in England and Wales that have opened foodbanks on their premises.

Photo of Nadhim Zahawi Nadhim Zahawi The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education

The information requested is not held centrally. The department does not collect information on the number of schools in England and Wales that have opened foodbanks on their premises.

We know that the reasons for people using food banks are varied and many. We will continue to reform the welfare system so that it encourages work whilst supporting those who need help – an approach that is based on clear evidence that work offers families the best opportunity to get out of poverty. This government continues to spend over £95 billion a year on working age welfare benefits for those who need them.

The provision of a healthy meal for children from households who are out of work or on low incomes is of the upmost importance to the government. We want to make sure as many eligible pupils as possible are claiming their free school meals (FSM), and to make it as simple as possible for schools and local authorities to determine eligibility. Over 1.1million of the most disadvantaged children are eligible for and claiming FSM, this saves families hundreds of pounds each year.

We have recently announced an additional £9.1 million will be spent ensuring the most disadvantaged children in 11 local authority areas will benefit from healthy food and enriching activities in the 2019 summer holidays. My department is also investing up to £26 million to the National Schools Breakfast Programme, to kick-start or improve breakfast clubs in over 1,700 schools in the most disadvantaged areas of the country.

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