Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the number of additional children in Nottinghamshire who will become eligible for free school meals following recent changes to the eligibility criteria; and what assess
Answer
The government is committed to widening opportunity and tackling child poverty. Expanding free school meals to all children in households receiving Universal Credit is expected to lift around 100,000 children out of poverty by the end of this parliament and put around £500 a year back into families' pockets. The department anticipates that over half a million additional pupils nationally will become eligible as a result of this expansion. Published departmental analysis estimates that there are around 45,000 children in households receiving Universal Credit in Nottinghamshire. These children are within the group that may benefit from the expansion of free school meals eligibility, subject to meeting the relevant eligibility requirements and being registered for free school meals. Providing a free, nutritious meal supports children's wellbeing, attendance, readiness to learn and educational attainment, and helps ensure that children flourish and succeed regardless of their background.25% vibes
Verdict: RED (18/100)
The reply gives a specific Nottinghamshire figure of about 45,000 children in Universal Credit households. However, that is the total population in those households, not the estimate of additional children who would become newly eligible, which was the figure asked for, and the reply does not say that estimate is unavailable. The second part of the question is truncated and could not be identified, and the reply offers only a general commitment on child poverty that does not answer any specific point. The asker would likely need to follow up for the newly-eligible figure and for a clear response on the second item.
How we got there
| Question item | Coverage | Specificity | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| What estimate the Department has made of the number of additional children in Nottinghamshire who will become eligible for free school meals following recent changes to the eligibility criteria. | Partially Addressed | Direct | The reply gives a concrete Nottinghamshire figure (about 45,000 children in Universal Credit households), but that is the total UC-household population, not the estimate of additional children who will become newly eligible. It does not say that the additional-eligibility figure is unavailable, so it substitutes a related but different measure. The national 'over half a million' figure is not local and does not fill the gap. |
| What is the department's assessment or view of the matter introduced by the truncated phrase 'what assess…' (the question text is cut off, so the subject of the assessment cannot be determined). | Not Addressed | Generic | The item's subject is truncated and cannot be determined, and the only related statement is a generic commitment to widening opportunity and tackling child poverty that does not respond to any identifiable assessment subject. |