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Labour has made free school meals an issue in Birmingham’s local elections.

Lynda Clinton, currently a Labour councillor in Tyburn and candidate for the ward of Castle Vale in May’s poll, has distributed leaflets claiming: “The Conservatives just took away free school meals from 1,000,000 children whose families are on low income.”

Coun Clinton (who is also Birmingham's Lord Mayor elect) asks: “Why are Conservatives starving our children by taking away free school meals?”

But the claim that the Tories took free school meals away from one million children isn’t true. And Labour knows that.

What's happened to free school meals?

Under the old system - the one that existed under Labour - children got free school meals if their parents received an out-of-work benefit, such as Jobseekers’ Allowance.

They lost their entitlement if a parent started working 16 hours a week, if there was one adult in the house, or parents worked 24 hours a week between them, if there were two.

But the Government has replaced the old benefits system with a new benefit called Universal Credit. A lot of old benefits, including Jobseekers Allowance, are now part of Universal Credit.

Under the Tory plan, children will get free school meals if their parents are on Universal Credit and earning less than £7,400-a-year from work.

This figure only includes earnings. Once you take into account the benefits they receive, people earning £7,400-a-year can have an income of between £18,000 and £24,000, depending on their circumstances.

(Image: Posted on Twitter by @SpikeVonCat)

So how does the Tory plan compare to the system they inherited from Labour?

The Government claims that their policy actually means 50.000 more children will be eligible for free school meals.

And their analysis is backed by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, a widely-respected think tank.

In an analysis published on April 5 , the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said: “Overall slightly more children from low-income households will be eligible for free school meals under Universal Credit once it is fully rolled out than would have qualified under the legacy system it replaces – an increase of roughly 50,000 children (or 4%), costing the Exchequer an extra £20-30 million per year.”

But this figure of 50,000 is a net change. In other words, there are winners and losers.

According to the IFS, around 140,000 children will gain free school meals as a result of the new system. But around 90,000 will lose them - which is how you get a net increase of 50,000 children (140,000 - 90,000 = 50,000).

Many of the losers are children in families where nobody works but where there is money from other sources. According to the IFS: “The lost entitlements among workless families are largely driven by the small minority of them whose unearned income or assets disqualify them from Universal Credit altogether”.

(Image: PA)

So there are indeed some losers. But nothing like one million children.

And while it’s certainly right to point out that there will be losers, it seems misleading to do this without mentioning that the number of winners - children who gain free school meals thanks to the Tory changes - is actually higher.

So where does this figure of one million come from?

The figure of one million children is not a complete invention.

Universal Credit is being introduced slowly across the country. This began in 2013.

And as part of the switchover, the Government said that on a temporary basis it would simply provide free school meals for any pupil whose parents received universal credit.

The figure of one million is the number of pupils who would gain free school meals once Universal Credit was in place across the entire country, if the Government made this temporary policy permanent.

But the Government has never suggested it would do this. The one million figure refers to an imaginary future that nobody has ever said was going to happen.

Would Labour be different?

Labour’s claim that the Conservatives “took away free school meals” from one million children is based on imaging what would happen if every child from a family on Universal Credit was getting a free school meal, and comparing it to what’s really happening.

You might assume from this that Labour actually will give a free school meal to every child in a family claiming Universal Credit.

But it won’t.

Labour’s policy, set out in the 2017 general election manifesto , is this: “To aid attainment, we will introduce free school meals for all primary school children, paid for by removing the VAT exemption on private school fees.”

That may be an excellent policy. At the moment, free school meals go to every pupil in reception, year 1 and year 2, regardless of their financial circumstances. Labour would extend this to include years 3, 4, 5 and 6.

But it doesn’t cover secondary schools.

And it certainly doesn’t mean that every child from a family receiving Universal Credit would automatically get a free school meal, under a Labour Government.

If they are at secondary school then they’d be in the same position they are now.

In other words, some of those million children who are supposedly losing their free school meals under the Conservatives (the ones in secondary school) would be in exactly the same position under a Labour government, based on Labour’s own manifesto.

Labour is attacking the Conservatives for failing to ensure every child in a family receiving Universal Credit gets a free school meal.

But Labour doesn’t plan to give all those children free school meals either - at least, not if they are in secondary school.

A response from Labour

BirminghamLive invited West Midlands Labour Party to give a comment.

A Labour regional spokesperson said: "The IFS has shown that the Tories haven’t been transparent in their claims around eligibility for Free School Meals with regards to Universal Credit.

"Despite the Tories’ claims that no children would lose Free School Meals under their plans, the IFS have reported that one in eight children who were eligible before the roll out of Universal Credit could find meals taken away once the Tories’ plans are fully implemented.

"That is before we even account for the hundreds of thousands more who would have received a meal if they had kept the system as it is now.

"We hear far too many stories of children who turn up to school hungry and cannot learn effectively. The next Labour Government, by comparison, would give universal free school meals for all primary school children.

"Labour in Birmingham will always put children at the top of our agenda. Our offer for children and young people is a key part of our manifesto for May’s election. We understand that as one of Europe’s youngest cities we have a responsibility to do the best for our young people."

A Birmingham Labour Party source said: "Lynda recognises her words were slightly too strong in her latest round of leaflets but the sentiments that she has put across will ring true for many people in Birmingham.

"Lynda is a passionate local champion and she wants the best for the people of Castle Vale. I’m sure she’ll consider the language she uses in leaflets more closely in the future.”