The IFS is an independent economics institute that specialises in UK taxation public policy, and is well regarded across both the Conservative and Labour party.
The report focuses on several potential areas of reforms that would see the expansion of the free school meal system, either by increasing the value of free school meals or by expanding eligibility to a wider range of pupils. The report also sets out the costs of these policies, their distributional impacts and potential impacts on parents’ work incentives.
Brad Pearce, chair of LACA – The School Food People, said: “This report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies is timely and welcome. The report highlights the significant strain that school caterers have been under for some time. As outlined, since 2014 the cost of a Universal Infant Free School Meal (UIFSM) has seen a 16% real term cut.
"If funding for UIFSM had kept pace with inflation, per meal cost today would be £2.87. With food prices continuing to increase, and caterers reporting 50-70% increase in staple items since 2020, we urge the Government to increase funding for both UIFSM and FSM, in line with inflation.”
Key findings from the report include:
- ‘Significant’ expansions in eligibility could require up-front funding to improve school kitchens: The report notes that policies around increasing children’s access to free school meals may neglect the ‘significant up-front funding’ to ensure that they are deliverable. The report reflects that when the Department for Education introduced universal infant free school meals in 2014, it had allocated £150 million in the first year to support improvements to school kitchens and facilities.
- The per-meal funding rate has lost 16% of its value in real terms since 2014: The report reiterates that funding for free school meals has not kept in pace with inflation, with the current rate standing at £2.41. It notes that if funding had increased in line with inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index, the price per meal would be £2.87. Additionally, the report states that increasing the funding rate to this level would cost an additional £250 million a year in current prices.
- Around 1.7 million children whose families are entitled to universal credit are not eligible for free lunches: The report suggests that expanding free school meal eligibility to all families who claim universal credit could cost roughly £1 billion a year in the longer term, a 70% increase in spending on free school meals. In addition, it suggested that raising the income cap to £20,000 will bring roughly 900,000 children into eligibility – meaning that two thirds of children whose families receive universal credit will receive free school meals.
- Rollout of London’s free school meals programmes may not be cost effective: The report raises concerns that the rollout of the free school meals programme in London to all primary schoolchildren would cost an additional £1bn a year, which is similar to the cost of extending free school meals to all pupils whose families who receive free school meals in primary and secondary school.
The policy menu for school lunches: options and trade-offs in expanding free school meals in England report can be read in full on the Institute for Fiscal Studies website.