Conservatives abandon manifesto plan for free school breakfasts

The move follows a series of u-turns on key planks of the party’s general election manifesto, including proposals to lift the ban on grammar schools and social care reforms

1.3m children in the UK are eligible for free school meals (Peter Cade)

The Conservatives have officially abandoned a flagship manifesto pledge to provide free schools breakfasts for all primary school pupils in England.

The move follows a series of u-turns on key flanks of the party’s general election manifesto, including proposals to lift Tony Blair’s ban on new grammar schools, a free vote on fox-hunting, social care reforms, energy price curbs, and plans to end the triple lock for pensioners.

The manifesto, drawn up by the Prime Minister’s former chief-of-staff, had included plans to replace free school meals for state school pupils with a free breakfast for “every child in every year of primary school”.

The election document added: “We do not believe that giving school lunches to all children free of charge for the first three years of primary schools – regardless of the income of their parents – is a sensible use of public money.”

During the campaign the party came under heavy fire for the pledge, leading to accusations the policy was merely a cost-saving measure and Ms May being branded as “the lunch snatcher”.

But following the inconclusive election result and with the Conservatives stripped of their majority in the Commons, ministers said the Government would “retain the existing provision” and dropped its plans to axe free school meals for infant pupils from better off families. It was still unclear whether plans for free school breakfasts would go ahead.

According to Schools Week, however, the breakfasts were quietly abandoned earlier this month in the Lords – and an answer to a written question was only addressed this week during the parliamentary recess.

On 24 July, Robert Goodwill, the children’s minister, said: “As announced by the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the School System on 4 July we will not be pursuing universal breakfasts for primary school children and we will be retaining the existing provision for universal infant free school meals.

“We will however invest in a breakfast club programme as announced in the Childhood Obesity Plan in August 2016. This committed £10m a year of the Soft Drinks Industry Levy to expand breakfast club provision in up to 1,600 schools. Further details of the programme will be announced in due course.”

Angela Rayner, Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary, told The Independent: “This is yet another humiliating u-turn on education policy from Theresa May’s weak and wobbly Government. Breakfast doesn’t mean breakfast, and they have made a mess of it.

“To think that they spent the election campaign telling us that universal free school meals were unaffordable and promising to provide free breakfasts instead – at a paltry 7p a serving. Just weeks later they have abandoned that pledge as they beat a full scale retreat from their own manifesto. How can anyone believe a word they now say?”