Free school meals for infants: are schools ready?

Two million children between the ages of four and seven will be provided with free school meals from today, as part of a key initiative put forward by the Lib Dems.

The scheme is being implemented across 16,500 schools in England and ministers insist the move will save parents money, improve pupils' performance and encourage healthier eating. However, there are fears that many schools are underfunded and unprepared to deliver on the coalition's promise.

What has changed?

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Before today, only children whose parents were on benefits or earning below a certain threshold were entitled to free school meals. The scheme has now been extended to offer free meals to an extra 1.55 million children across all state-run schools, including academies and free schools. The programme is expected to save parents up to £400 a year per child, according to the BBC.

Whose idea was it?

The scheme was spearheaded by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg who says the initiative is a crucial part of his plans to create a "level playing field for all of our children so their success will be determined by their talents and efforts alone and not by their parents' bank balance".

Education minister David Laws said: "Today our goal to offer every infant child a healthy, tasty school meal has become a reality." He described it as "a move that will put money back in parents' pockets while ensuring all children get the best possible start in life".

How much does it cost and where is the money coming from?

According to the Department for Education funding for the £1bn scheme has come from Westminster. An extra £150m is being given to refurbish kitchens and canteens.

Is everyone in favour?

Dominic Cummings, once an advisor to former education secretary Michael Gove, called the plan "dumb" and a "bad gimmick" that had not been properly costed and would cause chaos across schools.

Leaked emails earlier this year suggested that there had been a difference in opinion between Conservatives and Lib Dems over the plans. However, Gove and Laws later issued a joint statement saying they both fully backed the scheme, The Guardian reports.

Others have criticised the scheme as a waste of money, with some MPs arguing the money could have been better spent elsewhere in education.

Have there been any problems?

According to a BBC survey, out of 99 councils, 34 said they did not have enough in their budgets to implement the scheme and had not received adequate funding from government. They said they had been forced to use funds already allocated for maintenance and other improvements to make sure they has the adequate facilities to deliver on Westminster's promise.

"The government, in making this promise, should also have made the money available to deliver it," said Nick Forbes, vice-chairman of the Local Government Association's children and young people's board.

But Laws has said he expects that up to 98 per cent of schools will be ready to provide hot meals to students today, with a small minority of schools forced to provide a cold lunch.