Petition to UK Parliament for free school meals for all families on universal credit

[Ursamama]

This seems like a no brainer. There aren't many signatures at the moment but is anyone interested in signing?

What about tax credits?

Do you have a link?

Link Hope this works

Yes. I will sign this one. I agree OP it does seems like a no brainer. I am surprised it isn’t already the case.

This petition has only got until the 23rd January! We need to get sharing ASAP!

Bump

What about those of us claiming tax credits??

That's what I was thinking.

Also income can be many times higher to get any UC than to get FSM currently. How many families would this be versus how many are entitled to FSM at the moment? Would this discriminate against home owners, as they would not get the rent component so UC would taper to nothing earlier? Some families would get UC for childcare as well, so they may earn more and still be entitled? I agree the current cut off is extremely low.

If by some miracle there are 10,000 signatures by the deadline then the government will respond and perhaps answer some of the questions if an even bigger miracle happens and there are 100,000 signatures a debate in Parliament should iron out the issues. I don’t stand to gain from this personally as I don’t receive any benefits but I really think that more families should be eligible for FSMs it would make a difference to children’s learning and behaviour, possibly also health and make the load just a little lighter for parents who are struggling.

This is likely a fairly cheap cost for a large societal benefit.

more information here

www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-63214021

And here

endchildfoodpoverty.org/feedthefuture

From the second link.
I’m not alone in this view; 72% of the public in England want the Government to extend Free School Meals in line with Universal Credit.

Then there shouldn't be an issue getting signatures. I personally disagree with using UC as the qualifier rather than income as it discriminates against homeowners and no mention of those on legacy benefits.

I've decided to sign this one instead. petition.parliament.uk/petitions/630385
"All Primary school children should receive free school meals"
It still has 6 months to run on it so has a chance.

I suppose the issue then is that one of the benefits given would reduce- child benefit or the child element of Universal Credit. How do you know that the amount this would be reduced by would be less than the current costs of the family? For example, suppose that £5.00 a day is taken away to pay for the school meals, but it’s only currently costing the family £3.00 to feed their child lunch. Effectively, the costs for the family then increase. I do understand that those with more than two children who only get UC child element for two would probably benefit the most in this circumstances, but they are a lot of families where this doesn’t apply.

Why isn’t it better to just leave the families deciding how best to spend their money? The school meals may well be rubbish, or their kids mightn’t eat them. At least by giving the families the money directly, they can have alternatives. Worse case is they end up paying twice, or the kids go hungry.

Why isn’t it better to just leave the families deciding how best to spend their money? The school meals may well be rubbish, or their kids mightn’t eat them. At least by giving the families the money directly, they can have alternatives. Worse case is they end up paying twice, or the kids go hungry.

This, particularly for secondary students. Many don't want the cooked lunch because they don't like it or don't want to waste their break lining up. I don't know how it works, does it cover things like wraps or pizza to the same value? I can see many secondary children opting not to have the lunch, except those genuinely hungry, but even they might not if their friends are not having it.

Why isn’t it better to just leave the families deciding how best to spend their money? The school meals may well be rubbish, or their kids mightn’t eat them. At least by giving the families the money directly, they can have alternatives. Worse case is they end up paying twice, or the kids go hungry.

I agree. Mine have allergies. They couldn't have half the meals on the menu, their alternatives were often inedible, and after two near misses where they were given unsafe food we gave up on school dinners.

How do you propose to fund this?

Should free school meals be abolished for all infant school children and only provided for those with a financial need?

Thanks I will sign this one too.

I think extending free school meals to all primary school children is a great idea.

Costs could be kept down by using council employees in the kitchens instead of contracting out to private companies. The difference in cost is substantial when no one is trying to make a profit off the top. The fact that schools are bulk buying means that they can provide the meals cheaper than individual families. Funding is through taxation of those who can afford to afford it. It seems wise to spend money supporting a healthy start for children and reducing stress of parents rather than dealing with the consequences later of not supporting families when their children are young. My local infant school goes to great lengths to provide healthy cooked meals for all the children who want them regardless of allergies or belief based dietary requirements. The kitchen staff, like all the other school staff are employed by the council.

Signed

Parents generally know what their kids will eat. Government shouldn't be so involved in families lives and people should have the children they can take care off. It's irresponsible to have children and require others to feed them. Parents even insist on siblings attending parties they're not invited to knowing the celebrant's parent is paying per head. Manuy simply aspire to freebies these days.

There is a menu, parents choose what they want their child to have. Packed lunch is still an option too.

I think the point is to have a safety net. Perhaps you had your children at a point in your life when you were able to support them but your circumstances have changed, death, illness, accident, disability, the company you work for makes cut backs or goes into administration, or the cost of living crisis tips you into poverty when you weren’t before. Circumstances change all the time for the worse or for the better. Secondly we are all sharing the same schools, hospitals, streets etc. my neighbours having a better quality of life improves my quality of life. No man, or woman, or child is an island. We all contribute to make our communities better places to live.

If it gives you satisfaction to see children go hungry as a punishment to their parents for having them in the first place well I doubt anything I can say will persuade you otherwise. Personally I would rather do what I can to improve things for families in whatever circumstances they now find themselves.

There is a menu, parents choose what they want their child to have. Packed lunch is still an option too.
What about secondary? There was a menu rotation provided if you looked for it I think, but also other options like wraps, pizza, drinks. I don't know if these are covered under fsm? Parents did not choose.

I think it is problematic at secondary level. Schools would be expected to provide lunches for those entitled, but the children may choose not to collect them.

I support it at primary level but at secondary level I think the government should just reduce the tax burden on lower income families. The freezing of thresholds mean that my generous 10% rise was only 7% net, and that's before taking before taking benefits into account. I am a lone parent on 22k.

I am very anti free school meals, largely because I see them every day.

The food is cheap and poor quality

The cost is largely the people who prepare it, the space it is prepared in and the heating and water to that space. Less than 10% of the cost is the actual food

It would be far far better to raise UC so that parents can provide their children with decent meals.

That would be 10x better value for money.

I think you make valid points about secondary. I don’t yet know what I think would be best solution for secondary. I’d have to do more research and thinking about it. One option is that state secondaries could consider offering the same service as I have heard of in private ones and as state primaries, which is a sit down meal for all students.

@Nimbostratus100 I have seen a lot of school dinners too and the ones I saw were high quality and nutritious. I would agree that all schools should be serving high quality meals as standard. This could form part of the school inspection.