• New entitlement to free school meals for all children in Croydon West in households on Universal Credit
• Delivers on Labour’s Plan for Change to break down barriers to opportunity by driving better behaviour, attainment and wellbeing in schools while putting nearly £500 in parents’ pockets
• Labour’s historic move will lift 100,000 children out of poverty and support parents in decisive action to improve lives ahead of Child Poverty Strategy
• Comes alongside more than £13 million to ensure food that might have been left in fields instead ends up on the plates of those who need it, including school children

The Labour government has announced its plans to deliver a free nutritious meal every school day for over half a million more children, as Labour puts £500 back into parents’ pockets every year by expanding eligibility for free school meals.

From the start of the 2026 school year, every pupil in Croydon West whose household is on Universal Credit will have a new entitlement to free school meals. This will make life easier and more affordable for parents who struggle the most, delivering on Labour’s Plan for Change to break down barriers to opportunity and give children the best start in life.

The unprecedented expansion will lift 100,000 children across England completely out of poverty. Giving children the access to a nutritious meal during the school day also leads to higher attainment, improved behaviour and better outcomes – meaning they get the best possible education and chance to succeed in work and life.

Since 2018, children have only been eligible for free school meals if their household income is less than £7,400 per year, meaning hundreds of thousands of children living in poverty has been unable to access free school meals.

Labour’s historic new expansion to those on Universal Credit will change this and comes ahead of the Child Poverty Taskforce publishing its ten-year-strategy to drive sustainable change later this year. It comes on top of targeted support for families being hit the hardest with the cost-of-living crisis, with urgent action including raising the national minimum wage, uprating benefits and supporting 700,000 families through the Fair Repayment Rate on Universal Credit deductions.

Labour is also offering more than £13 million in funding to 12 food charities across England to redistribute thousands of tonnes of fresh produce directly from farms to fight food poverty in communities.