Labour accuse government of ‘pulling rug’ from under poor
ABIG change in who is and isn’t eligible for free school meals is coming – and campaigners say up to a million children could miss out.
The shift in the rules for Universal Credit comes in on April 1.
It has prompted an outcry, with Labour warning the government is “pulling the rug” from under poor kids, our sister paper the Mirror reports.
Campaigners say that eventually, up to a million children who would have benefited will now get nothing.
Yet the Tories have accused Labour of “scaremongering” and insist no child will suddenly lose their hot lunch.
So who’s right – and more importantly, will it affect your children?
●●WHAT’S THE POLICY?
Currently all families on Universal Credit can claim free school meals.
This offer was designed as a transitional measure, to help people as they move to the Government’s new six-in-one benefit.
It’s more generous than for the rest of the population, who get guaranteed free meals only in infant school – Year 1 and Year 2.
But now, under a new law, children in Year 3 and above on Universal Credit in England will NOT normally be eligible if their parents earn more than £7,400 in a year.
The change takes effect on April 1 2018. It was passed in a House of Commons vote this week, by Tory and DUP MPs.
●●WILL MY CHILD LOSE THEIR FREE SCHOOL LUNCH?
If they already get free school meals, then the short answer is no. If you’re already on Universal Credit, your child’s free lunches won’t disappear on April 1, no matter what you earn.
If you are already on Universal Credit, your child is entitled to free school meals no matter what – for now.
That will not change after the policy comes into effect, even if your earnings tip over the £7,400 threshold.
Instead, your child will be will be protected until March 31, 2022, or “the end of their phase of education”, whichever is later.
So if they’re in primary school they’re covered to the end of Year 6, and if they’re in secondary school they’re covered to the end of Year 11.
This is for children already in school. If you have a baby now, they won’t be guaranteed a free school meal because they won’t have signed up it by 2022.
If you aren’t on Universal Credit yet, but are moving to it in future, you are affected.
If you earn more than £7,400 a year, your child will NOT be eligible for free school meals.
If you earn less than £7,400 a year, your child WILL be eligible for free school meals.
Where it gets interesting is if you’re under the £7,400 threshold now, but then tip over it later by getting a better-paid job.
If this happens, your child will remain eligible until March 31, 2022, or the end of their “phase of education”, whichever is later.
When writing this guide, we couldn’t find any firm detail about what happens if you stop claiming Universal Credit entirely.
However, the protections above apply explicitly to people who are hit by the new law – in other words, people on Universal Credit but whose earnings are above £7,400.
The law is all about people on Universal Credit; if you leave a benefit, you tend to leave entitlement to things associated with that benefit.
●●HOW WILL YOUR EARNINGS BE CALCULATED?
The £7,400 refers specifically to net earned income, so it’s the amount you take from jobs, investments etc – NOT benefits – in a year.
The government says a family earning £7,400 but still on Universal Credit could be taking home a total of £18,000 to £24,000.
There will be monthly checks on people’s income, verified from “the most recent Universal Credit assessment period”.
If this can’t be done, it will be based on data from the previous two or three assessment periods.
Guidance will be given to schools and councils on how to conduct eligibility checks.
The income threshold within one assessment period (a month) is £616.67.
●●WHY IS IT BEING
The Children’s Society has said the “huge step backwards” means “one million children in poverty, who could benefit, now won’t”.
The Shadow education secretary Angela Rayner has accused the government of “pulling the rug” from under poor families.
The GMB union says the “cruel school dinner cap” will leave thousands of families with the choice of cutting their hours or their children’s meals.
That is because the £7,400 threshold is a “cliff-edge”. Earn £7,399 and your child gets free meals all year. Earn £7,401 and they get nothing.
The GMB also warns there are no plans to raise the cap with inflation, so the problem will get more acute year by year. The threshold is actually written into the law so the law would have to be changed to raise it.
●●WHAT DO THE TORIES SAY?
Education Secretary Damian Hinds said the government never intended to give every child on Universal Credit a free hot meal. Doing so would cost more than £3billion a year extra by 2022, he said.
Work and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey accused Labour of “scaremongering”.
The government stresses that by 2022, it expects 50,000 more children to have free school meals than under the previous benefits system.