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In the letter Sultana questions why free school meals are being extended to all primary school pupils in Scotland, Wales and London for the next academic year but not in the rest of the country. The letter has been signed by 56 MPs including Diane Abbott, Jeremy Corbyn and Charlotte Nichols as well as the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan.

Sultana says in the letter: “Child poverty is endemic in Britain. The cost of living crisis saw the number of children living in poverty almost double last year, now standing at nearly four million. This spiraling crisis is seen in our schools, with heart-breaking accounts of seven year-olds stashing food from breakfast clubs for later in the day and children pretending to eat from empty lunchboxes.

“Free school meals for all guarantees no child goes hungry at school, allowing children to eat, learn and grow together. But throughout the rest of England, children are being left behind. That is why today, as MPs and elected mayors from across Britain, we urge you to use the Spring Budget to extend free school meals to all primary school pupils.”