§ Mrs. Lena Jegerasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what estimate he has made of the number of children who will not be entitled to free school meals as a result of the decision to withdraw free provision to families of four or more children; and what steps he is taking to ensure that no hardship results.
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§ Mr. Edward ShortI estimate that the number of children now having free school meals solely because they belong to families of this size and not because their parents are unable to pay for the meals without financial hardship lies between 250,000–300,000. These will cease to be eligible for free meals next April. Free school meals will continue to be provided for all children whose parents are unable to pay for them without financial hardship irrespective of the size of the family.