The UK Government must act to level up funding for free school meals across the four nations of the UK to ensure children are guaranteed access to a nutritious, hot meal.
Ahead of its annual conference in Birmingham this week, LACA, the organisation representing school caterers and their suppliers, noted the discrepancy in current funding between the four nations with Scotland receiving £3.30 per meal, Wales getting £3.20, Northern Ireland receiving £2.60 and England getting £2.61 as of September 2025.
LACA is calling for greater consistency in funding and for money to be ring-fenced. It said providing nutritious meals to children has become increasingly challenging of late due to significant cost increases, staff shortages and funding shortfalls.
Michael Hales, incoming chair of LACA, said schools were increasingly having to bridge the gap between government funding for free school meals and the rising cost of delivering dinner for all of their pupils, BBC News reported.
The Department for Education recently announced an expansion of eligibility for free school meals in England. From the start of the 2026 school year, every pupil in England whose household is on universal credit will be entitled to receive free school meals. The government is also planning the first update of the School Food Standards since they were introduced for government-maintained primary and secondary schools in England in 2014.
Hales said the expansion in eligibility for free school meals was welcome, but added more funding would be essential.
LACA’s annual survey of its members found evidence of caterers decreasing portion sizes, cutting menu options and substituting meats with cheaper protein sources in order to manage cost pressures.
Current government standards require schools in England to serve meat on at least three days a week, however some campaigners have called for the rule to be relaxed to help boost uptake of plant-rich diets and to limit the amount of processed meat being served to children.
During a cooking demonstration at this week’s LACA conference, celebrity chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall encouraged school caterers to use more vegetables and pulses in their recipes to improve the nutritional value of school meals.
Dan Parker, chief executive of Veg Power, also highlighted an upcoming campaign in November 2025 that will focus on getting more beans and pulses into school meals within 750 schools over the next three years.
