Department for Education data reveals number of children eligible for free school meals in Bristol

Following the government’s announcement that any child in England whose parents receive Universal Credit will be able to claim free school meals from September 2026 onwards, data from January 2025 released by the Department for Education demonstrates how many children in each area of the country qualify.

To qualify for Universal Credit, a household’s income must currently be less than £7,400 annually, with the latest change set to include a further 500,000 pupils in the free school lunches scheme, according to the government.

As a result of the changes, some 19,186 children in Bristol representing 30.2% of the population now qualify for free school meals.

Sir Keir Starmer’s government have said that the alternations to the qualifications for free school meals will save eligible families £500 a year and lift 100,000 children out of poverty - something the Prime Minister calls a ‘down payment’ on the future and on the government’s wider child poverty strategy.