The prime minister should consider expanding the provision of free school meals

The government cannot afford to rest on the laurels of the £15bn package announced by Rishi Sunak last month to help people through the cost of living crisis. It was urgently needed because the chancellor misjudged the scale of the problems facing millions of families in his spring statement in March. As a result, ministers were left running to catch up and probably reaped a smaller political dividend than if they had acted earlier.

Despite that, the government is in danger of repeating its mistake. Although Mr Sunak’s measures will insulate the poorest families from the hike in energy bills, the highest inflation in 40 years will also cause other problems, notably rising food prices.

The school summer holidays are fast approaching and there is an urgent need to ensure that children from poor families do not go hungry. As we report today, already overstretched food banks expect a further surge in demand for help from struggling families unless the government enhances support over the holiday period.

Some food banks are cutting the size of their parcels or even fear they may have to turn people away.

Although about 1.7 million (one in five) children in England are eligible for free school meals, the Food Foundation says 2.6 million children live in households that missed meals or struggled to access food. However, ministers are resisting calls to boost eligibility and holiday payments and, worryingly, some local authorities are ending their £15 weekly out-of-term vouchers, which provided an important safety net last summer.

While Mr Sunak increased the household support fund from which councils make emergency payments, to £1.5bn, many authorities face greater financial pressures than a year ago because of rising inflation, energy costs, pay awards and Covid recovery measures.

Dominic Raab, the deputy prime minister, rebuffed a call by teaching unions and other educational groups for all children from families receiving universal credit to qualify for free school meals. He is “not convinced it’s the most targeted way of dealing with the most vulnerable”.

Ministers should think again, not least because of growing disparities across the UK. In England, pupils in year 3 and above living in households on means-tested benefits (such as universal credit) are eligible for free meals if their household’s annual income does not exceed £7,400 after tax and excluding welfare payments. In Northern Ireland, the cap is £14,000 a year, while the devolved governments in both Scotland and Wales have pledged to roll out free meals to all primary pupils.

Ideally, ministers should extend free provision to all children from families on universal credit. The case for universal coverage is powerful. As Nick Capstick, head teacher of Drove Primary School in Swindon, told the BBC: “It’s increasingly common that children will come in having not eaten from the night before and also being quite confused, disorientated, and really lacking in energy to have a really productive day at school. Universal free school meals are a simple way of eradicating this situation.”

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At the very least, ministers should act on a recommendation by Henry Dimbleby, the prime minister’s food tsar, to raise the household income threshold to £20,000, so 1.1 million more children are eligible. A permanent increase in provision would be better than a one-off sticking plaster this summer.

For some families, the invidious choice between heating and eating will not disappear even when the immediate pressures pass. As Mr Sunak discovered after he raised universal credit by £20 a week during the pandemic, ending a “temporary” move is politically difficult.

Boris Johnson, who dislikes making U-turns, should remember that impressive campaigns by the footballer Marcus Rashford have already forced him to make three retreats over the provision of free school meals. The prime minister should get ahead of the game before he goes 4-0 down this summer.