The Department for Education (DfE) has confirmed that from next month, free school meals will be available to families on Universal Credit in England no matter how much they earn. The change is expected to save households as much as £495 a year for each child.
Current eligibility rules include a £7,400 income cap, calculated after tax and excluding benefits, which stops Universal Credit households from claiming free meals once their annual earnings pass that level. That cap will be removed from the start of the 2026-27 academic year, meaning any child in full-time education whose parent or carer receives any amount of Universal Credit will qualify.
Eligibility expansion
The expansion was announced by the DfE last year and comes into force in September under the government of Prime Minister Andy Burnham. The department said the move builds on existing free school meal provision, which already covers 2.1 million disadvantaged children, 90,000 low-income students in further education and around 1.3 million infants through the Universal Infant Free School Meals programme.
"Over half a million additional pupils will become eligible for Free School Meals under the new eligibility criteria," the DfE said previously. "The change means that all households receiving Universal Credit, above the current £7,400 income cap, will qualify for this support."
Preparation and savings
"The new eligibility will take effect in September 2026," the DfE added. "Families receiving Universal Credit will be able to access free school meals starting from the 2026/27 school year. This will give schools time to prepare for the increased number of meals they'll need to provide."
"This expansion will provide significant financial relief for families. If your household receives Universal Credit, you could save up to £495 per year per child on school lunches," the department said. For families with several children, the savings can make a substantial difference to household budgets.
Other routes to free meals
Children in England may also receive free school meals if their parents or carers get income-related Employment and Support Allowance, support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, or the guaranteed element of Pension Credit.
Additionally, all state-funded primary school children in reception through to year two automatically qualify for universal infant free school meals.
