Cost of living: Zayn Malik asks prime minister to expand free school meals

Zayn Malik says he relied on free school meals when he was growing up

Former One Direction band member, Zayn Malik, has written to the prime minister about free school meals.

In a letter to Rishi Sunak, he said he relied on free school lunches when he was growing up in Bradford.

He's joined the likes of Marcus Rashford in urging the government to expand the scheme, giving more children around the UK access to food.

With the cost of living crisis continuing, more families are facing tough choices about how to spend their money this winter.

Marcus Rashford led a successful campaign to help children access free meals but there are calls for more support as the cost of living crisis continues

Zayn Malik is the latest celebrity to back a campaign by the Food Foundation who estimate 800,000 children in England live in poverty but currently do not qualify for meals.

He's asking the prime minister to use his November budget to include pupils whose families are on Universal Credit.

Universal credit is a payment given by the government to some people to help them with their living costs.

In his letter to Mr Sunak he said many parents are "already doing everything they can" and more government support is "desperately needed".

He added: "These children are suffering from lack of concentration, some even resorting to stealing food from school canteens because they are so hungry but can't afford to buy lunch.

"They are also feeling shame which is directly impacting their physical and mental health.

"I know what that shame feels like, I have seen it first-hand, as growing up in Bradford, I relied on free school meals. I personally experienced the stigma surrounding food insecurity.

"My hope is that in writing this letter we can all ensure that no child ever has to experience this hunger and stigma again as my experience is not unique; it is a struggle that many children in England are sadly going through right now."

What has the government said so far?

Jeremy Hunt is the new chancellor and he'll be announcing what's in the new budget on November 17

Ministers have said that, during term time, the government "provides more than 1.6 million free school meals, providing pupils from the lowest-income families with a free, nutritious lunchtime meal".

The government has said it had already expanded access to free school meals more than any other in recent decades.

It has previously said expanding this more wouldn't be possible and warned that the Feed the Future campaign has under-estimated the cost of expanding the scheme.

Who is eligible for free school meals in England?

Currently about 1.9 million children in England are able to get free school meals, which the government says is 22.5% of all pupils.

Another 1.25 million pupils receive free meals under another rule which says that all infant state school pupils (Reception to Y2) can have free school meals during term time - regardless of household income.

In England and Wales, children aged 4 to 16 are eligible for free school meals if they live in a household which gets income-related benefits (such as universal credit) and has an annual income of less than £7,400 after tax, not including welfare payments.

About 40% of people who claim universal credit already have jobs and may earn more than this.

This is one reason why the government have said universal credit is not a good way to decide what households need more support.

What about the rest of the UK?

In Northern Ireland, children whose family earns less than £14,000 are entitled to free school meals.

In reality that means around 100,000 children in Northern Ireland receive free school meals - around 30% of the total school population.

A number of schools there have decided to offer more pupils free meals in response to rises in the cost of living, which schools now offering free breakfasts to all pupils and some are offering hot dinners to more pupils.

Scotland's free school meal programme covers pupils in P1 - P5, which is around 100,000 children,

An extra 80,265 primary and secondary pupils (12%) qualify due to their household income.

The Welsh government said they will provide free school meals for all primary school pupils by 2024, beginning with Reception pupils from September 2022.

Do you think more children should be able to access free school meals? Let us know in the comments.