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The Tories have been stopped from sneaking through cuts to free school meals and free childcare for kids on Universal Credit without a parliamentary vote.

The government had tried to bring in a number of controversial policies by using ‘statutory instruments’ rather than normal legislation in order to avoid MPs voting on them.

But Labour’s shadow education secretary Angela Rayner has forced ministers to bring them to the floor of the Commons using an obscure parliamentary process known as “praying against” the regulations.

The government is now expected to lose votes on plans to remove free school meals and free childcare from children on Universal Credit, and end childcare vouchers for working parents.

The DUP , who prop up the Tory minority government, are opposed to the end of childcare vouchers, leaving the government without a majority on the issue.

(Image: Birmingham Mail)

Tory MPs had also hoped to avoid having to vote to remove free school meals and childcare from hundreds of thousands of families.

The Children's Society calculated that a million children in poverty will miss out on a free school meal if the Tories deprive children whose families are on Universal Credit.

The charity said that it deeply undermines the principle of 'making work pay' and the likely success of Universal Credit.

Shadow education secretary Angela Rayner said: “Not only are the Tories taking free school meals and childcare from hundreds of thousands of working families but they tried to use arcane procedures to dodge proper scrutiny from MPs.

“If they want to take away free school meals and childcare from struggling parents in low paid jobs, Tory MPs should walk through the lobbies and vote for it.

(Image: Getty)

“But with no parliamentary majority, I urge the government to take this chance to think again.”

Statutory instruments allow ministers to change the law under powers granted by an existing Act of Parliament.

Motions to annul a negative instrument can be tabled by Members of the House of Commons or House of Lords and are referred to as a 'prayer'.

Currently all children in households that have been switched to universal credit also qualify for free school meals (FSM).

But the government wants that to end because if it were rolled out universally, it would mean that significantly more children would get free meals than do currently.

This is because not all of the old benefits that have been combined into universal credit qualified for FSM.

On current benefits, families stop qualifying for FSM when they are working 16 hours a week and switch to working tax credit.

The proposal is that households will stop being eligible for FSM when they are earning £7,400 a year (excluding benefits).

The government says that will mean an extra 50,000 pupils will be eligible but charities and Labour disagree.