London Mayor Sadiq Khan has announced an expansion of the city's free school meals programme, making it available to all pupils in every year of state-funded primary schools, special schools, and pupil referral units for the 2023/24 academic year.
The funding for the programme comes from a £135 million emergency package that Khan has announced to help Londoners struggling with the cost of living crisis. The package also includes investments in affordable housing, skills and employment programs, and support for those struggling with fuel poverty and food insecurity.
The expansion of the free school meals programme is expected to benefit an additional 287,000 children in London. A recent poll found that one in three parents and guardians of children between five and 11 years old in London are “financially struggling,” and one in six are going without basic needs or relying on debt to pay for them.
Free school meals have arrived in London 🎉pic.twitter.com/7ABiXR8THb
— Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) September 5, 2023
What else is the Mayor doing?
In addition to the free school meals funding, Khan has also announced the following measures to help Londoners with the cost of living crisis:
- Investing £3.46 billion in building affordable homes
- Investing £400 million in skills and employment programmes
- Providing more than £80 million in support for those struggling with fuel poverty
- Providing an emergency funding package of more than £3.5 million to help provide around 10 million free meals during school holidays and at weekends to low-income Londoners struggling with the spiraling cost of living
Image: iStock
