Free meals funding for disadvantaged students will increase this August for the first time since the policy was introduced nine years ago.
The Department for Education announced today that the rate per student per meal will increase by 5 per cent from £2.41 to £2.53.
But with food inflation currently standing at 17.4 per cent, college leaders have warned this the new rate will still require cross-subsidy from other budgets.
If the per-student per-meal rate had increased in line with the consumer price index, the measure of inflation for everyday goods and services, it would stand at £3.17.
