FAMILY CREDIT AND UPTAKE OF SCHOOL MEALS IN PRIMARY-SCHOOL

Background in April 1988, Family Credit families lost their right to f ree school meals. They were compensated by an increase in Family Credi t of 65p per child per schoolday, subsequently uprated by the retail p rice index. Families on Income Support continued to be entitled to fre e school meals. The impact oi this legislation on the uptake of school meals has not been documented. Methods The uptake of school meals by Family Credit and Income Support families over a decade was examined i n two samples, each consisting oi about 7000 English primary school ch ildren, one oi 'inner city' children and the other more representative of the whole population. Results The change in legislation resulted i n an immediate drop in uptake by Family Credit children oi around 30 p et cent in both samples. By ethnic group, 42 per cent oi the Asian Fam ily Credit children changed from school meals compared with 10 per cen t of the Afro-Caribbean children. income Support children continued to have high uptake of about 40 per cent. By the early 1990s, half oi th e Family Credit children were not taking school meals, and;he price of school meals was more than the allowance in 81 per cent oi the areas in the representative sample, and in 45 per cent oi the inner city are as. Conclusion Uptake oi school meals is very sensitive to changes in welfare policy. Monitoring the impact of these changes on children's h ealth and welfare in families with low resources continues to be an im portant activity.