Approximately 6,655 Kingston primary school children are set to benefit from the Mayor of London's free school meal extension this year. 

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced plans to continue funding free school meals for London's state primary schoolchildren for the next academic year.  

The Mayor is proposing to spend £140m in his 2024/25 budget to extend free school meals for another year from September, with the meals helping parents financially, reducing stigma for those who receive them and helping to improve nutrition and school engagement. 

Labour's candidate for South West London, Marcela Benedetti, said: "This is fantastic news for Kingston children. Extending free school meals for another year will save families up to £1,000 per child.

"It shows what can be done with a Labour Mayor in City Hall making a real difference to people suffering from the cost-of-living crisis." 

Last year, over 800,000 individuals were admitted to the hospital due to malnutrition and nutritional deficiencies, which experts have linked to poverty. 

Hidden poverty is a prevalent issue in Kingston. The means-tested system fails to capture those who are struggling despite being employed, and the threshold to receive meals is too high.  

Kezia Coleman, Chair of Kingston Labour said: "Use of food banks has soared. Children are showing up to class hungry. Kingston has some amazing volunteer-powered food share schemes, such as the community fridges in Chessington, New Malden, and Surbiton. These initiatives provide a lifeline for many local people.

"The last Labour government lifted half a million children out of poverty. The Party remains committed to tackling the growing wealth gap and unlocking opportunities for all."

Kingston & Surbiton Labour selected a motion calling for universal free school meals at the party's annual conference in autumn 2023. 

The motion was not accepted at conference as reports suggested the Labour line was that there were more targeted and effective ways to deal with poverty.

Announcing the scheme, Khan said: "I know from personal experience what a difference these meals can make and it's been fantastic to hear from teachers how much better children are performing and also how much parents and their children have benefited, with parents not having to worry about how to provide their children with a healthy, nutritious meal during the school day."

Children in Years 3 to 6 in primary school had previously only received free school meals if they lived in households on universal credit earning less than £7,400 a year – after tax and not including benefits, and regardless of the number of children in the family. That means, without the Mayor's additional funding, many children from working families in poverty were not able to receive free school meals. 

 Khan said: "Sadly Londoners continue to struggle with the cost-of-living crisis and with the Government failing to step forward to deliver these meals, we have worked hard to find the money to provide this vital funding for the next academic year." 

The proposed new funding will see boroughs offered £3 per meal to help to continue to deliver the meals from September. This is 18.5% higher than the amount they receive from Government, who previously increased its funding from £2.41 to £2.53 per meal, and a 13.2% increase from the Mayor's September announcement.  

Khan said: "Delivering free school meals has been one of my proudest moment as Mayor as I have seen the difference it has made to the children receiving them and to their families. I am thrilled to announce my intention to extend this lifeline for families for yet another year. 

 "I will continue to do all I can to help families cope with the cost-of-living crisis as we build a fairer and more prosperous London for all."