Thank you for contacting me about the provision of free milk to children under the age of five.
All pre-school children under the age of five who are in day care are eligible for free milk, as well as children under five years old in primary education reception classes.
When asked earlier this year about whether the scheme could be extended to cover children until the end of the academic year during which they reach their fifth birthday, the Minister for Care, Stephen Kinnock MP, said the Government has no current plans to do so. However, he did point to separate legislation which allows pupils who are eligible for free school meals to continue to receive free milk at school after the age of five.
More widely, you might be interested to know that the Department for Education is currently consulting on updates to School Food Standards. If you would like to share your views about school milk, or about school food more generally, you can find more information here: https://consult.education.gov.uk/school-food-policy-team/school-food-standards-updating-the-leg-framework/.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.
