Free school meals on Universal Credit
If you are receiving Universal Credit and your annual net earned income is no more than £7,400, you can apply for free school meals for your child.
How to apply
To apply, complete the application form on the parent portal.
If you have recently applied for Universal Credit
If you have recently applied for Universal Credit, there may be a delay in confirming your eligibility for free school meals while your application is being processed.
If you are over 18 and still attend school
If you are over 18 and still attend school, you can claim free school meals if you receive any of the following benefits:
- Income Support
- Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
- An income-related Employment and Support Allowance
Important information
- Please make sure you have read the qualifying information before you submit a claim.
- The person receiving the qualifying benefits must complete the form.
Parent/carer declaration
I confirm that the information given on this form is complete and correct.
- I will inform you immediately if any of the details on the form change.
- I will inform you immediately if my financial circumstances change.
- I agree that you will use the information I have provided to process my claim for free school meals and will contact other sources as allowed by law to verify my initial and ongoing entitlement. I understand that the results of any free school meals eligibility check may also be used to assess my entitlement to receive school transport if appropriate.
- I understand that I will have to pay for the cost of the meals taken if I do not tell you about any change of circumstances and my children receive free school meals that they were not entitled to.
General data protection regulations
The information that you give on this form will be used to process your application for free school meals. The Local Authority is obliged to protect the public funds it handles and may use the information you have provided to prevent and detect fraud. We also share this information, for the same purpose, with other government departments that handle public funds.