Ministers have revealed that government’s education agency is working with colleagues in other bodies to explore how information could be used to help expand uptake of free lunches for children

The Department for Education is working with other Whitehall agencies to progress the potential use of new data-sharing and digital processes to help families access free schools meals.

Children whose parents receive one or more of a number of state benefits are eligible to receive free school meals (FSM). For those who think their child might qualify, “to support take-up, the department provides an Eligibility Checking System so that eligibility can be checked as quickly and straightforwardly as possible”, according to the DfE’s early education minister, Stephen Morgan.

The minister added: “The department is pressing ahead with an upgraded Eligibility Checking System which will allow parents to check their own eligibility, making it quicker and easier for both families and local authorities to register eligible children for FSM.”

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In response to a written parliamentary question from Conservative MP Damian Hinds – who asked whether the government had considered “the potential merits of introducing auto-enrolment for free school meals” – Morgan revealed that the DfE is currently exploring several possible ways to use existing public sector data further expand uptake among eligible recipients.

This includes making use of information from local public bodies, as well as data collected during the application procedure for support services offered by central government, the minister indicated.

“The department is aware of locally led approaches to boost take-up of free lunches,” he said. “To support these approaches, we are working with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to explore options on data sharing that will make it easier to identify families who are eligible to make a claim. We expect to have these in place from spring next year, well ahead of the 2026 academic year.”

Morgan added: “Officials are also working with the Department for Work and Pensions to consider how enrolment may be supported through the Universal Credit claims process. The department will monitor the impact of these policies and engage with local authorities to assess the impact that these changes are having on uptake of FSM.”