Free school meals give every child the energy to give their all in the classroom, writes Bridget Phillipson
5 June 2025, 16:48 | Updated: 5 June 2025, 16:57
I know just what it’s like to grow up in poverty. That sting of realising there’s not enough to go around, of not being able to heat the house, of being denied what most families take for granted.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Working families today are doing their best to provide for their families, working all hours to give their children the very best start, just as my Mam did for me.
Children see that struggle. It shapes them into the adults they become.
But under the last government too many children were plunged into hardship. Too many parents were robbed of the freedom to support their families.
No child should be coming to school hungry, or not knowing how they’ll pay for their lunch that day.
If they’re arriving at school hungry every day, they’ll never be able to work hard, do well and go on to live a good life.
That’s not something I am willing to stand by and watch.
So today, I say enough is enough.
Today, I am proud to announce, as part of our Plan for Change, the extension of free school meals to the children of those working families.
This is why I got into politics. Every toddler in pre-school, every child at school and every sixth former at college whose household is on universal credit, will get a free lunch.
That’s over half a million more free lunches across England, on top of the 3 million plus already dished out every day.
It’ll pull a full 100,000 children out of poverty entirely.
It’ll put around £500 back in parents’ pockets, and remove one significant financial worry.
It’s a game changer for every hard-working mum and dad from Newcastle to Newport who just want to do a fair day’s work for a fair day’s pay and be able to provide for their family.
It’ll give every child that needs it a full belly come dinner time – stopping them messing about in class or skipping school for the afternoon.
It’ll give every child the energy to give their all in the classroom.
And it’ll give every child a better chance to succeed.
Because our announcement today not only fights poverty, it lifts learning.
I know how much that means to parents. I know how much it meant to my mam - to see me working hard and achieving at school, taking that chance at a better life.
I want that for all children. That’s why today we see the government’s Plan for Change in action.
Don’t get me wrong, more still needs to be done.
And we’re getting on and doing it.
We’re getting on with our free breakfast clubs, with 750 already up and running, another up to £450 saving for parents.
Our Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill going through parliament will cap the number of branded uniform items, another potential £50 saving.
Our massive expansion in government funded childcare hours to 30 a week comes into effect from September, another average £7,500 saving.
And our child poverty strategy later this year will take us even further in tackling the stain of child poverty across the country.
Better lives for working people. Opportunity for children to thrive no matter their background. Those are my driving forces, and that’s the change we’re delivering.
________________
Bridget Phillipson is Secretary of State for Education and MP for Houghton and Sunderland South.
LBC Opinion provides a platform for diverse opinions on current affairs and matters of public interest.
The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official LBC position.
To contact us email opinion@lbc.co.uk
