Move to extend free school meals ‘welcome news’

AROUND 75,000 children and young people in the North East will benefit from the expansion of Free School Meals, the North East Child Poverty Commission (NECPC) has revealed.

- NICOLE GOODWIN

The Government announced yesterday that all children in families receiving Universal Credit will receive free school meals from next year.

It forms part of the Government's Plan for Change to break down barriers to opportunity and give children the best start in life.

The move has been welcomed by the NECPC, which recently made a formal written submission to the Government's Child Poverty Taskforce calling for the extension and said that 50,000 in the North East Combined Authority area and 25,000 in Tees Valley could benefit from the change.