Westminster City Council funds school meals for nursery-age children

The announcement follows a free school meal scheme for primary pupils launched by the mayor of London

Most nursery-age children in Westminster are set to receive a free lunches, under £2m plans.

The proposals were approved by Westminster City Council during a budget meeting on Wednesday.

Under the plans, three and four-year-olds in early years settings offering free entitlements will receive meals.

Some two-year-olds receiving the council's free early education entitlement will also receive help from September.

Additionally, children aged between 11 and 14 who are living in the borough and attending Westminster secondary schools will receive free lunches.

The scheme will be rolled out on a means-assessed basis and is due to run until July 2024, expanding on a free lunch programme for primary pupils that was launched in January.

The authority said the measure was part of a wider multimillion-pound investment to protect residents from the worst effects of the cost-of-living crisis, and could provide lunch to as many as 14,000 children in the borough.

It follows similar schemes by London councils in Newham, Islington, Southwark and Tower Hamlets to offer free school meals to primary or secondary school pupils, alongside a free school meal scheme for primary pupils launched by the mayor of London last month.

'We need equality'

Adam Hug, leader of Westminster City Council, said the aim was to "take some pressure away from families at a time when we know they are already struggling".

"Some parents go without to fill a lunchbox with whatever is left in the cupboard - however meagre - to ensure their child has something to eat at school," he said.

"It cannot be right that children in one of the richest cities on earth are being left to make do with scraps. We need to see equality built into the system for future generations."

Tim Roca, the council's deputy leader and cabinet member for young people, learning and leisure, said the move would pay "dividends in the classroom".

"Eating well supports good eating patterns, ensuring children grow and develop and can concentrate on their learning," he said.

During the budget meeting, councillors also approved a 2% rise in the adult social care precept, and approved the doubling of temporary accommodation funding to £167m with the aim of purchasing 270 homes for the borough over the next three years.

However, Rachael Robathan, the leader of the opposition, accused Labour of double-standards, saying: "In their manifesto, less than a year ago, they were clear that they would freeze council tax until 2024.

"Yet tonight we hear that they are going to raise it by 2% to levy the adult social care precept.

"Their rationale is that this is what we, the Conservatives, did last year - and we did, we raised it by 1%, which they opposed."

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