A London council has become the first in the country to offer free school meals to every secondary school pupil up to the age of 16.
Tower Hamlets is set to announce it will fund universal free school meals for young people at secondary schools in the borough no matter what their parents earn.
The council has been funding universal lunches for primary school pupils since 2014, and will become one of a handful of London councils extending it to older age groups.
It comes after the Evening Standard’s School Hunger special investigation and comes after Mayor Sadiq Khan announced all primary school children in London will be given free lunches from September for one year.
Lutfur Rahman, Mayor of Tower Hamlets, said: “We are proud to be investing in our young people by funding universal free school meals for all primary and secondary children.
“A high-quality universal offer improves health and educational outcomes, while reducing inequalities and saving families money.” The new arrangements mean all children in Tower Hamlets schools from Reception to Year 11 will receive free lunches.
The scheme had been under consideration before Mr Khan’s announcement about primary school funding was made.
A spokeswoman said the council is still considering how to allocate the “spare” money that has been freed up by Mr Khan’s announcement.
Extending free school meals to secondary pupils will cost the council £5.7 million. This was approved as part of the council’s 2023-24 budget.
Full details about when the meals will be introduced and how long for are set to be announced at a future council meeting, a spokeswoman said.
Campaigners are urging the Government to extend free school meals to all children whose families receive universal credit.
Currently children miss out on free school meals if their household income, excluding benefits, is over the threshold of £7,400 a year, even if their families receive universal credit.
The Standard revealed that 210,000 London children were missing out because their families earned over the low threshold.
