200,000 West Midlands children enjoy free schools meals

Critics of free school meals have been told to "eat their hats" after revealing almost 200,000 pupils in the West Midlands have benefited from the controversial scheme.

Free lunches for all reception, year one and year two primary school pupils were introduced by the Government in September - at a cost of £1 billion nationally.

Now new figures have revealed how many pupils have opted to take advantage of the free meals, which were criticised by former education secretary Michael Gove as being "wholly unacceptable" as they diverted funding away from teaching.

In the West Midlands, 86.6 per cent of children have chosen to benefit from free school meals, 1.6 per cent more than the national average.

It means 183,575 youngsters aged four to seven in the region are tucking into free food - saving each family on average £400 a year on the price of providing packed lunches.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said: "Well over a million infants across the children are enjoying a school meal at lunchtime, giving them a better start to afternoon lessons and a healthy boost for their first years in school.

"The other good news for families is that this saves them up to £400 per child a year on the cost of a packed lunch. The naysayers about this policy can eat their hats, and all the leftover sprouts."

Now the Government is encouraging even more pupils to take up the free meals, which are not compulsory, claiming they help children to focus and concentrate throughout the day.

A spokesman for Mr Clegg said: "There is a real need to address health problems that are linked to a poor diet, with almost 20 per cent of children being obese by the time they leave primary school.

"Evidence clearly shows that childhood eating habits stay with you for life, which is why it’s vital to address this problem from a very young age."

Nutritionist Amanda Ursell said a common misconception is that a packed lunch is healthier than a school meal.

"In fact only one per cent of packed lunches meet the nutritional standards that currently apply to school food," she said.