Debate contribution: Free School Meals Provision

Debate contribution by Mr Gary Middleton on 25 November 2025.

MLA: Mr Gary Middleton
Party at the time: Democratic Unionist Party
Date: 25 November 2025
Type: Debate contribution
Business: Opposition Business
Heading: Free School Meals Provision
Assembly identifier: Official Report component 5259035

Text

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the motion. I do not think that there is a single Member who does not want to see our children healthy, well fed and ready to learn. We all recognise the statistics before us: 13% of children live in food-insecure households. We understand that nutritious food is the fuel for educational attainment. However, although we share the compassion behind the motion, we must also share a commitment to reality. I begin by commending the Minister for the action that he has already taken. While others deal in unfunded wish lists, the Minister has dealt in action. He recently announced that, from the 2025-26 academic year, the eligibility threshold for free school meals and uniform grants will rise to £15,390. Crucially, he has also committed to linking future increases to inflation. That targeted, sustainable intervention is designed to support what many describe as the working poor; families who work hard but struggle to make ends meet. The Opposition's motion mentions comparisons with other jurisdictions, nothing that they are expanding universal provision. However, they are being selective. They fail to mention that, for families outside those specific age groups, the eligibility criteria in Great Britain are far less generous than our own. In England and Wales, the earnings threshold for families on universal credit is just £7,400. In Scotland, it is roughly £9,500. Compare that with Northern Ireland, where, under the Minister, the threshold is over £15,000. We are already casting a much wider net for low-income families than our counterparts across the water. Of course, we recognise that there is more to do, but we then come to the central issue: funding. The Education Authority faces an overcommitment of some £280 million. The Department is chronically underfunded. The independent report entitled 'Investing in a Better Future' made that clear. The motion calls for a road map to universal provision by 2030, but let us be clear about the price tag: extending universal free school meals to all pupils from nursery to year 14 would cost the public purse an additional £202 million every year. That figure does not even include the capital costs. We have over 1,100 schools, nearly 800 of which are primary schools. A massive expansion in meal numbers would require new kitchens, new dining halls and significant infrastructural upgrades. Where is the budget for that capital investment? We hear calls from the Benches opposite for subsidies and expansions, but we rarely hear where the money should come from. If we are to find the extra £202 million for this specific policy, which Department does the Opposition suggest that we take it from? Do we take it from Health or from Infrastructure, or should we further stretch the Education budget, which is already at breaking point? Poverty is a scourge, but it requires a whole-system approach. It is not the job solely of the Department of Education to solve those issues of inequality. That is why the Minister for Communities has stepped up, recently extending welfare mitigations to 2028, which will provide stability for families. We support the Education Minister in his fight for additional resources for education, but until that funding is secured from Treasury and allocated —
— by the Executive, we must be realistic; we cannot spend money that we do not have. I give way to Mr Allen.
I do agree. We absolutely should invest to save. It is particularly relevant to the Department of Health. That being said, the scale of this particular initiative, whilst it would be a good one to do, is such that over £202 million would be required in additional resource each and every year. Those of us who sit — who have the privilege, if you like, of sitting — on the Education Committee know the challenges that exist in our education system, and those are not only to do additional things, which are all very worthwhile doing, but to even stand still . We are in a very dangerous situation when it comes to finances. In closing, I support the Education Minister's doing what he can, but we do need the wider Executive to provide that funding support to allow us to take forward all the initiatives that we want to see to improve the outcomes for our children.

718 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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