Free school meals
We want to make sure children in the city who are eligible for free school meals receive them.
Children, aged 19 years and under, can get a free school meal if their parent or carer receives one of the following benefits:
- Universal Credit (as long as household annual net earned income is no more than £7,400 as assessed by earnings from the 3 most recent assessments)
- Income Support
- Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- support under the Immigration and Asylum Act of 1999
- Pension Credit
- Child Tax Credit - provided the household is not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and has an annual gross income no more than £16,190
- Working Tax Credit run-on - paid for 4 weeks of no longer qualifying for Working Tax Credit
Enrol for free school meals
You do not need to contact us or your child's school to enrol. We use school census and other data to check for eligibility.
If you are eligible but not yet claiming we will write to you. You do not need to reply to the letter unless you want to opt out of the scheme. If we do not hear from you we will enrol your child in the scheme and let the school know.
Opting out
You have the right to opt out of automatic enrolment at any time. However, if we do not hear from you within 3 weeks of sending your eligibility letter, we will proceed with the enrolment process.
Contact us
If you want to opt out or think there is a mistake in our records, you can contact us by:
Email: schoolfoodservice@birmingham.gov.uk
Post:
Free School Meals, Cost-of-Living Programme
Birmingham City Council
Council House
Birmingham
B1 1BB
Page last updated: 28 March 2025
