Lib Dem councillors hail free school meals ‘victory’ as nearly 20,000 children in Haringey set to benefit

The Government has finally heeded Liberal Democrat calls to expand free school meals. Lib Dems previously introduced universal free school meals for infants whilst in government, and have long called for this expansion.

Figures published by the Government suggest that over 4 million more children should receive free school meals by 2026/27 – which could see 18,936 young people in Haringey benefitting from the change. 

Responding to the announcement, Liberal Democrat Councillor Marsha Isilar-Gosling said: 
“For years families have had to choose between heating or eating, just to make sure their child had food for a school lunch. That should never have happened.

“This is a victory for so many families and passionate campaigners and we’re glad the Government has finally listened to Liberal Democrat pressure. Thanks to the efforts of thousands of supporters, almost 20,000 children in Haringey are finally on track to receive the meals they need and deserve.

“But this can’t be the finish line. The next steps must be automatic registration for those entitled to free school meals, as piloted by the Liberal Democrats when they ran Durham County Council, cutting the cost of school uniforms, and crucially, ending the two-child benefit cap. We’ll keep pushing until no child is left behind."

Notes:
Click here to see Liberal Democrat analysis on how many school children will benefit in each English area (tab 1), based on Government figures.  Please note that the estimates for the number of children benefitting is for the financial year 2026/27.