Government U-turns on free school meals amid ongoing row over public sector pay

A manifesto pledge to replace free lunches with free breakfasts was among a number of policies absent from last month’s Queen’s Speech, prompting speculation that it had quietly been scrapped.

Pressed to clarify the Government’s position during an urgent debate today, Schools Minister Nick Gibb finally confirmed that the proposed changes – which would see free lunches restricted to low-income families – will not go ahead.

He told MPs that ministers had “listened to” the views of parents and teachers and “decided that it is right to retain the existing provision”.

The announcement makes school lunches the fourth Tory manifesto commitment to fall by the wayside in the wake of the party’s calamitous election campaign.

Following the confirmation of a deal between the Conservatives and the DUP, it was revealed that plans to means test winter fuel allowance and remove the pensions triple lock had been dropped.

Meanwhile the Defra minister Thérèse Coffey stated in a written answer on Monday that a promise to hold a free vote on repealing the hunting ban will not take place in this Parliamentary session.

And there are still questions over whether the Government will go ahead with plans to introduce a price cap for energy customers, or increase the threshold for the value of an individual’s assets that are protected from the costs of care.

Addressing the Schools Minister during an urgent debate on school funding, Shadow Education Secretary Angela Rayner pressed him on whether “scrapping infant school meals [is] still policy”.

“Will the Minister provide universal free breakfasts in primary schools, and does he finally have proper costings for that?” she added.

Mr Gibb replied that ministers “have listened carefully to the sector’s views on the proposal”.

He told MPs: “Universal infant free school meals ensure that children receive a nutritious meal during the day, which saves hard-working families hundreds of pounds a year... We have decided that it is right to retain the existing provision.”

Senior Conservative frontbenchers have offered repeated assurances that they are “listening” to the message sent by voters at the election, as they claim they are aware that the country is growing “weary” of austerity.

However, rifts have emerged in the Cabinet over the issue of lifting the public sector pay cap, with Chancellor Philip Hammond giving his strongest signal yet that he is not prepared to budge on the policy.

Addressing business leaders at the Confederation of British Industry dinner late on Monday night, Mr Hammond said the Government must “hold its nerve” in the face of calls to ease back on efforts to tackle the deficit.

“There is frustration over the stagnation in real pay growth... and once again, some are questioning whether we should abandon the economic plan that has brought us so far,” he said.

“It is up to all of us… to make the case, all over again, for a market economy [and] sound money.”

His opposition to lifting the cap has been defended by both the former Prime Minister David Cameron and former Chancellor Lord Lawson.

Mr Cameron today accused politicians calling for an increase in public sector pay of being “selfish”, as he warned it was too soon “to let spending and borrowing rip”.