Changes to checking for FSM Entitlement?

The Early education minister Stephen Morgan has announced that the government is redesigning its system for checking free school meals eligibility.

At present, the government’s ‘apply for free school meals’ service simply points users to their local council’s website. The checking system is now being redesigned to allow parents and schools to check eligibility independently of their local authorities.

Backbench MPs had pushed for the government to introduce Free school Meal (FSM) automatic enrolment across the country, amid fears the current opt-in system is excluding around 250,000 eligible children.

Some councils have already introduced auto-enrolment within their own authority, whereby eligible children are offered meals unless their families specifically opt out.

The minister stated that “Locally-led efforts are more likely to meet the particular needs of the community, and we welcome local authorities taking action to ensure that families access the support for which they are eligible, subject to those activities meeting legal requirements, including those on data protection.”

Torbay authority have announced that they intend to introduce auto enrolment for FSMs, to generate extra funding for families and schools.  Devon Local Authority is investigating doing the same.  If you would like to know more about FSM auto enrolment have a look at the DAG Briefing Paper – Free School Meals Auto Enrolment.