A new report shows that school dinner debt has increased by 50% in the last two years. Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) published its cost of school meal debt report which shows the impact on school budget, relationships with families, and stigma faced by children.
School dinner debt: a growing problem
Their survey of 176 primary schools in England found that the average dinner money debt at the end of the 23/24 academic year was £1,000. It noted that not all schools reported debt, but the ones that did it ranged from £3 to £22,000.
Over the last two years, 39% of schools increased their dinner debt – some by as much as 100%. Only 12% of schools reported a decrease. The report also highlights that 33% more families are struggling compared to previous years.
Some schools have resorted to capping the level of debt a family can rack up, while others do not allow debt at all. Other schools are encouraging packed lunches but 98% of these fail to meet the same nutritional standards as school dinners.
The report also highlights the challenges schools are facing the means-tested allowance. From the time it takes to identify eligible students, to track payments and reaching out to families for debt collection. Schools could be making far better use of this time.
Stephanie Slater, founder and chief executive at School Food Matters, said:
This report is extremely important to help bring attention to the additional stress families are experiencing when they can’t afford to pay for school food. Often, a school lunch is a child’s only hot meal during the day, and allowing families to plunge into debt so their child can access one is devastating.
This is a clear example of why we are calling for the government to end means-testing and ensure every child has access to a hot healthy meal during the school day.
Increasing child poverty
All of this comes as 4.3m children in the UK are growing up in poverty – around 31% of all children. Shockingly, 900,000 of these children miss out on free school meals because of Universal Credit’s tight rules around free school meals. The current system also fails to cover children from working-poor families who earn just above the threshold. This results in many children missing out.
Government action in England is severely lacking behind Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland – devolved governments deciding to provide more children with free meals.
Urgently extending free school meals to all school-aged children would cost only £2bn while providing numerous benefits. In comparison, in the Autumn Budget Rachel Reeves committed £3bn per year to Ukraine. These extra meals would ensure that every child is able to learn.
Universal Credit
CPAG’s report noted that restrictive rules around free school meals eligibility and Universal Credit is part of what’s driving parents’ challenges paying for school dinners.
Specifically, to be eligible, parents claiming Universal Credit must have an annual household income below £7,400. There are some exceptions. For instance, if children were receiving free school meals before the roll out of Universal Credit, then for now they continue to do so. This is the case even if their household earnings rise above this threshold.
However, this also means that households who weren’t already claiming free school meals wouldn’t now be eligible if they’re earning more than this.
Obviously, for one, £7,400 annual earnings is an extremely restrictive threshold. There’ll be many households earning little over this living in poverty. What’s more, the threshold hasn’t changed since 2017, even as the cost of living drastically has.
The point is, this harsh rule is stopping children from getting free school meals. As a result, CPAG’s report points to it being a key factor in pushing parents into school dinner debt.
Of course, this is all as the new Labour Party government is keeping people on Universal Credit in poverty through the two-child benefit limit as well.
School dinner debt: the thin end of another wedge
Ultimately, the free school meal threshold is acting somewhat like yet another cap too on top of this. It’s preventing children from getting nutritious, hot meals, and pushing households into even more debt. The staggering scale of school dinner debt shows that anything short of universal free school meals is not going to cut it.
If Labour is genuinely committed to tackling child poverty, this new report should be a wake-up call.
Feature image via Centre for Homelessness Impact /Liam McBurney/PA
