FREE school meals (FSM) will be provided in Cumbria over the Easter holidays for children living in low-income households.

The Council confirmed this just days after the Government announced they would not only extend the Household Support Fund, but increase it by £500m.

A spokesman for Cumbria County Council said: “Following the Government’s decision to extend the Household Support Fund to support families with food and utility poverty, the County Council has once again committed to ensuring every eligible young person - including Early Years - is able to access a free school meal voucher over the Easter holidays.”

This means that children in low-income families will be able to access vouchers just as they would in term-time.

But the Local Government Association (LGA), which represents councils, has said that automatic enrolment for free school meals should be introduced, while eligibility for FSM should be expanded for all pupils who meet the income criteria, regardless of their family circumstances.

The Government is expected to publish its White Paper on food strategy shortly with new proposals on how to tackle inequalities in access to healthy food.

Although the Government has data on which pupils are eligible, parents currently have to apply for FSM through their local authority or through their child’s academy school.

Currently children in England are eligible for FSM if parents are accessing select benefits, such as Universal Credit, Jobseeker's Allowance and income support.

There are further eligibility clauses in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

But Government estimates suggest that automatic enrolment could capture the 11% of eligible pupils who have not applied for FSM.

A Department for Education spokesperson said: "We want to ensure every eligible child has access to free school meals, which is why we have expanded access to them more than any other government in recent decades.

"We encourage schools to help children sign up for free school meals and work with councils to make the checking process more straightforward.

"We are continually considering what further steps we could take to improve the take-up of FSM, and welcome ideas and contributions on the best ways to do that."