Lib Dems: Tories snatching lunches from over 17, 000 children in Warwickshire

Up to 1,838 children from under privileged backgrounds living across Warwickshire will have their lunches taken away under Theresa May's plans to abolish universal free school lunches for infants, Liberal Democrat research has revealed. In total 17, 253 children in Warwickshire are set to lose out under the plans.

Those families losing out are expected to have to pay around £440 per child per year for their school lunches.

The Conservatives claim that they will be able to provide free school breakfasts for all primary pupils at a cost of £60m per year. If the UK's 4.62 million children in state-funded primary schools were fed a free breakfast for the 190 days of the school year, each breakfast would cost just 6.8p.

The Liberal Democrats have calculated that under Conservative costings of just under 7p per child's breakfast, each child could expect to receive either half a boiled egg, one slice of bread with 12 baked beans or 37.5 cornflakes and 100ml of semi-skimmed milk.

During the Coalition, the Liberal Democrats introduced universal infant free school meals for all pupils in reception, year one and year two. Prior to that, when free lunches were means-tested, the Children's Society estimated that half of all school aged children living in poverty - 1.2 million - were not accessing free school meals. This was the result of a combination of eligibility criteria that punished low-income, working families and the stigma associated with claiming them.

Commenting on the figures, Parliamentary Candidate for Rugby & Bulkington Jerry Roodhouse, said:

"Theresa May's cruel policy will mean that well over 1,500 children from under privileged backgrounds in Rugby and Warwickshire will lose out on free school lunches. This will mean greater inequality and struggling families having to pay hundreds of pounds on lunches a year.

"The Conservatives' promise of a free breakfast is cynical and clearly not designed to reach all children. They have set aside a meagre 7p per breakfast per child, the price of half a boiled egg or just one slice of bread with 12 baked beans. The Liberal Democrats will stand up against this mean-spirited vision of Britain and extend free school lunches to all primary school children."