A COUNCIL leader has criticised the government after the number of schoolchildren receiving free school meals in the city hit a record high.

Department for Education figures show 7,057 children in Brighton and Hove were eligible for free school meals in January – 22.3% of all state school pupils in the area.

This was up from 20.9 per cent the year before, and the highest proportion since comparable records began in 2015-16.

In state-funded special schools in Brighton and Hove, the rate was 48.5 per cent in 2021-22 – the highest of all types of state education which had at least 100 pupils.

This was compared to 15.8 per cent in nursery schools.

Councillor Hannah Clare, deputy leader of Brighton and Hove City Council and chairwoman of the children, young people and skills committee, said that the rising numbers of children eligible for free school meals are “concerning”.

She said: “It shows that the number of families who are struggling continues to increase, which should be seen as a black mark on the inaction of the government.

“As the Conservative government fight over their next leader, with very little mention of how any candidate would tackle the rising cost of living, urgent action is required now.

“After 12 years of the Tories in government, for the poorest households we have seen nothing but failure. Whether that is cuts to benefits or cuts to services, it is clearer now than ever that they do not care about ‘levelling up’ those who need support.”

Cllr Clare said that the council is doing all it can amid cuts to local government funding, with “as much funds as possible” put aside in an emergency fund to help people buy white goods, as well as a fund to support school holiday clubs and support for the emergency food network.

“There is always more to do and we will keep our focus on doing so,” she said.

Across England, 22.5 per cent of pupils (around 1.9 million children) are currently eligible for free school meals – up from 20.8 per cent, and also a record high.

This varied between just nine per cent in Wokingham,  but rose as high as 41.1 per cent in Islington, in London.

The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) said it is "shocking" that one of the world's wealthiest economies saw such a steep rise in the number of youngsters on free school meals this year.

Julie McCulloch, director of policy at the ASCL, added: “Even more shocking is the fact that current eligibility does not even capture all the children who need help. 

"Free school meal eligibility now applies to 22.5 per cent of pupils, but we know that the level of child poverty is about 30 per cent."

New research conducted by Loughborough University on behalf of the End Child Poverty Coalition reveals 29 per cent of English children were living in relative poverty in 2020-21, though this was down from 30 per cent the year before and first fall in a decade.

The ECPC said it is likely due to Government measures during the pandemic, such as temporarily increasing universal credit by £20 a week.

In Brighton and Hove, 26.1 per cent of youngsters aged 15 and under were living in households with less than 60% of the national median household income after housing costs – down from 27 per cent in 2019-20.

The DfE figures also show that white pupils with Traveller of Irish heritage ethnicity were the most likely to get free school meals across England – 63 per cent of all of those in state schools.

In Brighton and Hove, the highest rates were among children of black-African ethnicity – 42.5 per cent.

Ethnicities with fewer than 100 pupils have been removed.

A Government spokeswoman said it is providing more than £37 billion to help families with rising costs and will continue to keep eligibility under review.