Children could be auto-enrolled for school meals in Plymouth

Council will scrap 'burdensome paperwork'

More than 2,500 children in Plymouth who are missing out on free school meals could be automatically enrolled to receive them from April.

Auto-enrolment means eligible families are contacted by local authorities and offered free school meals unless they choose to opt out. The onus is no longer on people to apply.

Plymouth City Councillor Maria Lawson (Lab, Plymstock Dunstone) was unanimously supported this week in her motion of notice asking the council to write to education secretary Bridget Phillipson and work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall asking for auto-enrolment for free school meals be added to the anticipated Children’s Wellbeing Bill.

They also backed her request for the council to review the schemes put in place by some other local authorities and consider adopting an opt-out system for 2025/26, in the event that a national scheme has not been delivered.

Cllr Lawson said 16 per cent of children in Plymouth are living in poverty, with more than 2,500 children not receiving free school meals despite being eligible.

Cllr Lawson said barriers to enrolling include the "burdensome" application process, uncertainty about whether they are entitled to the meals, language or literacy issues, and feelings of stigma or embarrassment around disclosing financial details,.

She said as well as addressing hunger, greater take up of free school meals means schools get more money to help disadvantaged children.

The 'pupil premium' is £1,450 more per primary pupil and £1,035 more for each secondary school pupil receiving free school meals.

Plymouth’s education system is missing out on £2.5 million of additional funding, she said, and families could save around £500 a year.

Councillors also backed her request for council leader Tudor Evans (Lab Ham) to write to education secretary Bridget Phillipson and work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall asking for auto-enrolment for free school meals be added to the anticipated Children’s Wellbeing Bill.

In her maiden speech, Cllr Jaime Bannerman (Lab, Peverell), seconding the motion, said other local authorities had already gone down this route and it would show hardworking local families that the council cared.

“Let’s scrap the paperwork and make it easier and make it fair,” she said.

Cllr Kathy Watkins (Con, Plymtock Radford) said no child should be means-tested on their parents' income for provision of essential nutrition in school, nor should parents be judged on their parenting or income.

She said lunch was compulsory when she was at school and everyone sitting around a table helped enormously with “social cohesion”

Cllr Watkins told councillors she is an advocate for free school meals for all children, as in Sweden, Finland and Estonia.  Norway is set to provide meals for primary school children from next year.  India, Kenya and some USA states have similar programmes, she claimed.