In a significant move to tackle child hunger and deprivation, the UK government has announced that children in England whose families receive Universal Credit will now be eligible for free school meals. This expansion is expected to benefit an additional half a million pupils, raising the total number of children accessing free lunches in England to around 2.2 million—approximately 26% of the nation’s schoolchildren.
Children aged four to seven already receive free lunches under the existing universal infant meal program. However, despite this new policy targeting those in financial hardship, campaigners and child welfare advocates argue that England could gain much more from making school meals universally available to all children, regardless of household income.
Comparisons with Scotland, Wales, and Beyond
Scotland and Wales already offer broader coverage: all primary pupils in Wales are entitled to free meals, and in Scotland, the entitlement currently extends to children from Primary 1 through Primary 5 (ages 4–10), with further expansion in progress.
Globally, many nations—ranging from high-income countries like Finland and Sweden to developing economies such as India and Brazil—have implemented comprehensive free school meal programs that extend to both primary and secondary education. These schemes are not only poverty-alleviation tools but also public health and education strategies.
A Persistent Child Poverty Crisis
The UK’s child poverty rates remain troubling. Between 2023 and 2024, an estimated 3.4 million children—equivalent to 23% of the country’s youth—lived in relative income poverty. Urban areas are especially affected. The situation has been worsened by economic turbulence linked to the COVID-19 pandemic and Brexit, which triggered a rise in unemployment and, subsequently, greater food insecurity.
The British Medical Association has been critical of the government’s response, pointing to insufficient action on food poverty, childhood malnourishment, and the rise in obesity. In international rankings, the UK fared poorly in 2023, placing 37th out of 39 wealthy nations for child income poverty, ahead of only Turkey and Colombia. Interestingly, adult poverty in the UK aligns more closely with the OECD average, suggesting that child poverty is a deeper structural issue.
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The Case for Universal Free Meals
Free school meals are a cornerstone of social policy in many countries, particularly in efforts to improve child welfare, boost school attendance, and address nutritional deficits. Globally, about 418 million children receive school meals for free.
India’s Mid-Day Meal Scheme, the world’s largest, provides meals to 125 million children at a cost of around £2 billion annually. Brazil and several African nations have similarly ambitious programs, while Indonesia recently launched its own initiative. Scandinavian countries, such as Sweden and Finland, provide free meals for nearly all students across both primary and secondary levels.
Research across multiple countries shows that free school meal programs offer wide-ranging benefits. In India, children who received school meals showed improved cognitive skills, higher enrolment rates, and better educational outcomes. More surprisingly, there were positive effects across generations—mothers who once benefited from school meals gave birth to healthier children.
Evidence from Sweden underscores the long-term value of universal access to school meals. Children who received free, nutritionally balanced lunches saw improvements in adult health, education levels, and even future income. For those from the lowest-income backgrounds, lifetime earnings increased by 6%.
Free meal programs also contribute to public health, helping lower childhood obesity rates in both the UK and US. By ensuring children eat at least one healthy meal daily, governments can reduce healthcare spending in the long run. According to a 2025 EU report, the return on every euro invested in school meals could be as high as €34, with a minimum sevenfold benefit.
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A Human Right, Not Just a Policy Option
While the economic and social arguments for universal school meals are compelling, the issue is also fundamentally about children’s rights. Access to nutrition and a safe learning environment is essential for any child’s development.
The School Meals Coalition, an international alliance of 108 countries, aims to ensure every child has access to free school meals by 2030. However, the UK remains absent from this coalition—an omission many experts find increasingly difficult to justify given the available evidence and the country’s ongoing struggles with child poverty.
As the debate continues, advocates hope the government’s recent policy shift will serve as a stepping stone toward a truly universal school meal program—one that recognises good nutrition as a right, not a privilege.
