School mealsE+W

22 School meals: England and Wales.E+W

(1)A local education authority—

(a)may provide registered pupils at any school maintained by them with milk, meals or other refreshment [F1and may do so either on the premises or at any place other than the school premises where education is being provided]; and

(b)shall provide such facilities as the authority consider appropriate for the consumption of any meals or other refreshment brought to the school by such pupils.

[F2(2)Subject to subsection (3) below, an authority must charge for anything provided by them under subsection (1)(a) above and must charge every pupil the same price for the same quantity of the same item.

(3)In relation to a pupil whose parents are in receipt of income support or who is himself in receipt of it an authority shall so exercise the power conferred by subsection (1)(a) above as to ensure that such provision is made for him in the middle of the day as appears to the authority to be requisite and shall make that provision for him free of charge.]

[F3(3A)Subsections (1) to (3) above apply in relation to pupils at a grant-maintained school and the governing body of the school as they apply in relation to pupils at a school maintained by a local education authority and the authority maintaining the school.]

[F4(3B)Subsection (1) above applies in relation to persons, other than pupils, who receive education at a school maintained by a local education authority or a grant-maintained school, and in relation to the authority maintaining the school or the governing body of the grant-maintained school, as it applies in relation to pupils at a school maintained by a local education authority and the authority maintaining the school; and an authority or governing body must charge for anything so provided and must charge every such person the same price for the same quantity of the same item.]

(4)The governors of a school maintained by a local education authority shall—

(a)afford the authority such facilities as they require to enable them to exercise their functions under this section; and

(b)allow the authority to make such use of the premises and equipment of the school and such erations to the school buildings as the authority consider necessary for that purpose;

but nothing in this subsection shall require the governors of a voluntary school to incur any expenditure.

(5)The power under section 78(2)(a) of the M1Education Act 1944 to make arrangements as to the provision of milk for pupils in attendance at non-maintained schools shall apply in relation to all such pupils; . . . F5