Will the Child Poverty Strategy be enough to reduce food insecurity?

Is the Child Poverty Strategy enough to tackle food insecurity? Our Policy and Advocacy Manager Shona Goudie examines some of the key talking points  

The Government’s newly-published Child Poverty Strategy brings together a wide range of measures - some previously announced, alongside the continuation of existing policies – aimed at supporting children and families facing food insecurity.

As an organisation dedicated to ending child food poverty, we are encouraged to see nutritional safety nets placed firmly at the centre of the strategy. There is real progress here, with the potential to improve life for the 15% of households with children currently experiencing food insecurity. But this is only the beginning – there is much more to do.

A major milestone: ending the two-child limit & expanding Free School Meals

Two of the Strategy’s most significant measures are the removal of the two-child limit and the expansion of Free School Meals (FSMs) to all children in families on Universal Credit.

These interventions are projected to lift thousands of children out of poverty – a genuinely transformative step. Families on Universal Credit and those with more than two children are among the most at risk of food insecurity, and removing these barriers ensures more children can access the nutrition they need every day to thrive at school and at home.

Strengthening the nutrition safety net

Nutritional safety nets remain one of the most powerful tools for protecting children from food insecurity. It is encouraging to see commitments reaffirmed.

In addition to the FSM expansion to all children in families on Universal Credit and the continuation of Universal Infant Free School Meals the strategy reiterated the commitment for the school food standards to be updated to ensure those children receive great nutrition.

Stronger standards are essential to ensure the investment in FSMs delivers maximum impact – and they must be implemented at pace ahead of the September 2026 expansion so children benefit from higher quality meals from day one.

However, a major omission is auto-enrolment of FSMs – the other critical intervention needed to make the expansion of FSMs impactful.

Currently, thousands of children who are already eligible for FSMs miss out because of administrative barriers. Auto-enrolment remains one of the most critical, cost-effective interventions available to ensure that children do not fall through the cracks, and we encourage the Government to implement this as soon as possible.

The Strategy also reiterates the commitment to breakfast clubs in every primary school. This is currently being piloted and due to be rolled out across all schools. Breakfast provision is a proven tool for improving nutrition and learning, and we welcome the continued commitment.

The government’s decision to extend the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme for a further three years is another important step. HAF has been a lifeline for many families during school holidays. However, the continuation comes without an increase in funding, raising questions about whether HAF can support the growing number of families who will become eligible for FSMs. Clarity and adequate resourcing will be crucial to ensure equitable access.

The 10% increase in Healthy Start, announced earlier this Spring, is welcome recognition of the vital role early-years nutrition plays. But the reality is that the cost of infant formula, fruit, and vegetables continues to outpace this uplift. Healthy Start remains one of the most effective tools we have to support maternal and infant health; it must keep pace with the real cost of a healthy diet.

The Strategy also references the good work of retailers to support the Healthy Start scheme. However, barriers to adding value since the card moved over to digital must be addressed to allow retailers to help the scheme go further, and the scheme must be expanded to all children on Universal Credit (in line with the Free School Meal expansion) in order to be a substantial enough programme for retailers to invest more in. 

Infant Formula 

The Strategy’s accompanying announcement on infant formula prices recognises the severity of the issue - something long overdue. Improved labelling on nutritional equivalence and confirmation that loyalty points and gift cards can be used for formula purchases offer some clarity.

But these steps fall short of meaningful action. Suggesting that all parents can simply switch to cheaper brands ignores a stark truth that even the cheapest formulas are unaffordable for many families. And while clarifying the use of gift cards is helpful, the families in deepest poverty often do not receive or hold such vouchers at all. Much bolder action is required to ensure every infant can be fed safely and adequately.

Local authority action 

The strategy also confirms that the Crisis Resilience Fund (due to take over from the Household Support Fund in April) will include a specific outcome to reduce the need for food parcels. This creates a welcome mandate for local authorities to invest in more dignified, preventive approaches to food insecurity.

The strategy also talks about empowering local authorities to act on child poverty – including support through Best Start Family Hubs which are crucial for providing support to families on areas such as breastfeeding.

Commencing the socio-economic duty

We also welcome the Government’s commitment to commence the socio-economic duty (Section 1 of the Equality Act 2010). This duty requires public bodies to consider how their decisions can impact inequalities linked to socio-economic disadvantage – including barriers to accessing food. When enacted properly, this has the potential to influence decisions across education, health, housing, and local government, helping to ensure that policies actively reduce, rather than deepen, food insecurity. This is an important and long overdue step forward.

No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF)

We welcome the Strategy’s acknowledgment of the need to support children and families with No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF), including confirmation that some children with NRPF can receive FSMs. However, the income threshold for eligibility has not been updated to reflect the expansion to all children in families on UC and is therefore no longer equivalent. This is both unlawful and harmful – we hope to see the government confirm this will be remedied.

We are also still awaiting a response to a consultation on access to the Healthy Start scheme for children on NRPF, which the consultation closed in January 2025.

Monitoring and Evaluation 

The Strategy was originally conceived as a ten-year plan, yet much of what is presented focuses on existing interventions. It is welcome to see the Strategy state that it is the beginning and initial plans for monitoring and evaluation that have been set out, including a baseline report to be published in Summer 2026 with annual reporting thereafter. It is also positive to see that the Child Poverty Unit will continue in some form, moving over to DWP but continuing to ensure cross-government working to tackle child poverty.

Ongoing scrutiny, accountability, and timely, paced delivery will be critical to bringing down child poverty and keeping it down.

Looking ahead

Last week's Strategy marks significant progress, and we applaud the Government for the substantial advances on Free School Meals and the two-child limit. These decisions will change the lives of children up and down the country.

But ensuring every child in the UK grows up free from food insecurity requires sustained ambition. Tackling food and formula prices, strengthening the Healthy Start scheme more substantially, ensuring sufficient holiday food provision, auto-enrolment for FSMs, and a continued focus on nutritional quality across early-years and school settings are all essential next steps.

This marks real progress and we must continue to build momentum to deliver the change children deserve.