All NI children could get free school meals

All schoolhouse pupils successful Northern Ireland could person a escaped schoolhouse repast nether plans published by the Department of Education (DE).

But providing a escaped meal for each schoolhouse children could outgo implicit £200m a year.

Providing a escaped repast to superior schoolhouse children lone oregon conscionable younger children would outgo less.

The section has published a consultation connected escaped meals and azygous grants which includes the figures.

Education Minister Paul Givan is reviewing the eligibility criteria for escaped schoolhouse meals and schoolhouse azygous grants.

Uniform grants are presently £42.90 for a superior schoolhouse pupil and a maximum of £93.60 for a post-primary pupil.

His section is already looking astatine whether a price headdress should beryllium introduced for schoolhouse uniforms successful Northern Ireland.

In Northern Ireland, a household is eligible for escaped schoolhouse meals and a azygous assistance if their household income is £15,000 a twelvemonth aft tax.

About 94,000 pupils - implicit a 4th of the schoolhouse colonisation - are presently entitled to escaped schoolhouse meals.

Givan is exploring if much young radical could beryllium entitled to escaped meals and azygous grants, and however overmuch that would outgo his department.

Among the options the section has scoped are to springiness a escaped repast to each kid up to and including superior three, superior 7 oregon to each kid successful superior and post-primary school.

According to the department, escaped schoolhouse meals could amended a child's "ability to ore and larn successful schoolhouse based connected them having a nutritionally balanced luncheon and establishing affirmative eating habits".

Providing cosmopolitan escaped schoolhouse meals to each pupils to superior 3 would outgo astir £46m a year, portion to supply it to each pupils to superior 7 would outgo £103m a year.

To supply a escaped repast to each schoolhouse pupils careless of income would outgo £202m a year.

The section has besides looked astatine raising the household income up to which a household would suffice for escaped meals oregon a azygous assistance to £20,000.

But its consultation connected the plans said that determination were "very terrible pressures connected the acquisition budget".

"An summation successful the fig of pupils capable to entree a escaped schoolhouse repast would not beryllium affordable from wrong the existent acquisition fund and would necessitate further backing if immoderate changes are to beryllium implemented," it said.

The fig of children surviving successful poverty successful Northern Ireland has accrued successful caller years.

The Assembly's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) precocious called the Department for Communities' handling of the Child Poverty Strategy a "catalogue of failures," wherever children and families are not astatine its heart.

The consultation connected escaped schoolhouse meals and azygous grants runs until 14 February 2025.