The government say 'To be eligible to receive free school meals (FSM), a pupil or their parent must be in receipt of any one of the following listed benefits and must make a claim to the school for FSM:
● Income Support
● Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
● Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
● Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act (1999)
● The guaranteed element of Pension Credit
● Child Tax Credit (provided you’re not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and
have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190)
● Working Tax Credit run-on: paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for
Working Tax Credit
● Universal Credit: if you apply on or after 1 April 2018 your household income
must be less than £7,400 a year (after tax and not including any benefits you
get).'
If a client stopped qualifying on Universal Credit grounds because of excess earnings, then entitlement would continue until the end of the school phase, eg primary or secondary.
Book now for our updated Introduction to Welfare Benefits 2019 course