Written Question · S5W-01240 · Session 5
What the criteria are to qualify for free school meals and when these last changed.
The question
To ask the Scottish Government what the criteria are to qualify for free school meals and when these last changed.
The answer
The criteria to qualify for free school meals is provided for in section 53 of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980. A summary of the criteria can be accessed from the Scottish Government website at http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Education/Schools/HLivi/schoolmeals/FreeSchoolMeals.
A number of changes have been made to the criteria in recent years:
One of the criteria to qualify for free school meals is the receipt of child tax credit (and not working tax credit) where the award of child tax credit is based on an income not exceeding an amount specified by Regulations under the Tax Credits Act 2002. The Tax Credits Up-rating Regulations 2015 increased the first income threshold for the receipt of child tax credit from £16,010 to £16,105 on 6 April 2015. The increase in this threshold resulted in a change to the qualifying criteria for a free school meal.
Prior to that, on 5 January 2015, amendments to section 53 of the Education Act (Scotland) 1980 made via the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 commenced giving education authorities new powers to provide school meals free of charge to pupils who satisfy such conditions as the authority thinks fit. On the same day, universal free school meals were introduced to children in primary 1 to 3. This policy is being delivered in partnership with local government.
Young children registered for their early learning and childcare entitlement are also entitled to a free school meal, in the middle of the day, under the same criteria as those children from primary 4 onwards. This criteria, was extended on 1 August 2015 through the Education (School Lunches) (Scotland) Regulations 2015 in early learning and childcare only, to include children who are or have been at any point since their second birthday looked after by the local authority or subject to a kinship care or guardianship order, as well as those with a parent in receipt of incapacity or severe disablement allowance or state pension credit. This was to bring the free school meal criteria in line with the eligibility criteria for a funded 2 year old early learning and childcare place. The extended free school meal criteria applies to all two, three and four year olds who meet the criteria in funded early learning and childcare.
A number of changes have been made to the criteria in recent years:
One of the criteria to qualify for free school meals is the receipt of child tax credit (and not working tax credit) where the award of child tax credit is based on an income not exceeding an amount specified by Regulations under the Tax Credits Act 2002. The Tax Credits Up-rating Regulations 2015 increased the first income threshold for the receipt of child tax credit from £16,010 to £16,105 on 6 April 2015. The increase in this threshold resulted in a change to the qualifying criteria for a free school meal.
Prior to that, on 5 January 2015, amendments to section 53 of the Education Act (Scotland) 1980 made via the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 commenced giving education authorities new powers to provide school meals free of charge to pupils who satisfy such conditions as the authority thinks fit. On the same day, universal free school meals were introduced to children in primary 1 to 3. This policy is being delivered in partnership with local government.
Young children registered for their early learning and childcare entitlement are also entitled to a free school meal, in the middle of the day, under the same criteria as those children from primary 4 onwards. This criteria, was extended on 1 August 2015 through the Education (School Lunches) (Scotland) Regulations 2015 in early learning and childcare only, to include children who are or have been at any point since their second birthday looked after by the local authority or subject to a kinship care or guardianship order, as well as those with a parent in receipt of incapacity or severe disablement allowance or state pension credit. This was to bring the free school meal criteria in line with the eligibility criteria for a funded 2 year old early learning and childcare place. The extended free school meal criteria applies to all two, three and four year olds who meet the criteria in funded early learning and childcare.
In the Official Report
No contribution in the Official Report cites S5W-01240 by reference.