Children of families on low-incomes in the area will automatically be given free school meals from September, it has been announced

People living across Bath and North East Somerset will no longer need to apply for free school dinners after the council was persuaded to adopt an ‘automatic enrolment’ policy at a meeting on Thursday, November 21.

Labour members proposed B&NES Council ditch the application process which won unanimous support.

This “significant change” means that from next September, eligible families in Bath and towns and villages across the district will be automatically registered by the council for this government-funded support.

To be eligible for free school meals, a family’s total household income must be less than £7,400 a year, or £617 a month, before benefits. To put that in context, provisional figures for 2024 show the median average salary in B&NES is just over £32,000 before tax and the local mean average is over £40,000.

Almost 5,000 (4,715) B&NES children qualify for this government-funded support – a number that leapt by 27 per cent between May 2020 and May 2023. By last January, a total of 17 per cent of state school pupils in the area were eligible, and 2,500 of those were in primary school.

But old government estimates suggest more than 10 per cent don’t claim - a number that could be much higher, and growing.

Cllr Lesley Mansell (Labour, Radstock) proposed the change asking B&NES Council to learn from other authorities which have already made the change and to make sure local children, families and schools receive this vital government money.

She said: “I am delighted that this proposal was supported by every councillor at the meeting. It's important we work together to change inertia into action, and deliver for local children.”

Robin Moss, opposition leader and the Labour councillor for Westfield, who seconded the motion, said: “We’re really pleased this was a unanimously-supported motion and that B&NES Council has decided to go ahead with auto-enrolling eligible families for free school meals from September.

“It will make a real difference to struggling families in BNES, and hopefully make a positive change. It’s just a first step for low-income families, but it’s a vital one.”

Residents can apply for free school meals now, through the council website at: https://www.bathnes.gov.uk/apply-free-school-meals .