SUMMARY OF CHANGES FOR 6 April 2011
The Department for Education has confirmed that the annual household income threshold for Free School Meal (FSM) eligibility for applicants in receipt of Child Tax Credit but not Working Tax Credit will be £16,190 from April 2011, remaining the same as in the 2010-11 fiscal year. Keeping the threshold the same will minimise changes for schools, local authorities (LAs), and families. There have been no other changes to FSM eligibility criteria.
Consequently, the FSM Eligibility Checking Service (ECS) will retain the current annual income threshold of £16,190, with all other aspects of the service remaining the same.
DCSF FREE SCHOOL MEALS ELIGIBILITY CHECKING SYSTEM (ECS) Previously known as The Hub
The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) provides an Online Free School Meals (FSM) eligibility checking service (ECS) that allows local authorities to verify if parents/carers applying for FSM meet the eligibility criteria for entitlement to free school meals. The FSM ECS (formerly known as the ‘Hub’) must ONLY be used to check free school meals eligibility as part of an application for FSM.
The FSM ECS checks data from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), the Home Office (HO) and Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to establish FSM eligibility. HO and HMRC each provide updated data files on a weekly basis. Checks against DWP data are made in real-time via a direct link to the DWP Customer Information System (CIS) database.
1. WHO IS ELIGIBLE?
Eligibility for free school lunches is limited to children whose parents are in receipt of:
1. Income Support (IS) *
2. income based Job Seekers Allowance (IBJSA) *
3. an income-related employment and support allowance
4. support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
5. Child Tax Credit (provided they are not entitled to Working Tax Credit) and have an annual income that does not exceed £16,190 as assessed by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs
6. the Guarantee element of State Pension Credit
*Children who receive IS or IBJSA in their own right are also eligible to receive free school lunches.
Please note: Details of any increases to the tax credit income threshold from April 2012 onwards will be posted onto the Teachernet website at: www.teachernet.gov.uk/freemealsandtrips - please therefore check this webpage for any updates to the above.
2. AGE OF THE CHILD
Children who receive “education suitable for children who have not attained compulsory school age” will need to satisfy the additional requirement of “receiving education both before and after the lunch period”, before being eligible to receive free school meals.
I.e. The scheme is available to children of all ages (including sixth form) as long as they are in attendance both before and after lunch. Part-time nursery children can receive free school meals but only if they are in attendance before and after lunch.
3. WHO IS THE “PARENT”?
· A natural parent.
· Someone who has legal parental responsibility for the child - e.g. someone who has been granted a residence order, is a guardian, is named in an emergency protection order, has adopted the child, someone who has been granted a care order for the child.
· Someone who has care of the child – who the child lives with and who looks after the child. This can be a number of different people.
4. HOW DO THEY APPLY?
ü An application form for Free School Meals must be completed once every academic year (September).
ü Determination of eligibility to Free School Meals must be confirmed at the start of every term (tri-annually) and a copy held on file with the initial application form.
5. RENEWAL
Schools must check that children continue to be eligible throughout the academic year. If, when eligibility was first established, the ECS was used to determine eligibility the School can use the same information provided on the original application form to check their continued eligibility. If the number of pupils in receipt of Free School Meals for the whole school is under 10 then please email with the necessary information and these will be checked. If the number of pupils is over 10 please use a Batch Query (see Section 12 for details).
If the ECS was not used to determine eligibility, a renewal letter should be sent out, at least two weeks before the end of Autumn, Spring and Summer terms, to all those who currently have entitlement. Parents should be expected to provide current eligibility documentation on the first day of the following term to continue to receive free meals. Obviously, it is expected that discretion will be applied for a day for a reminder letter to go home with a child to present documentation the following day.
The provision of a free meal should not continue if documentary evidence has not been submitted, cannot be determined by the Access, Planning, Governance and Business Development Team or if the presented documentation does not confirm entitlement. In such cases the parent should be approached for full payment.
However, in exceptional circumstances a refund for paid school meals may be possible once appropriate documentation has been provided – parents should request a Paid School Meals Refund application form from their school.
6. MONITORING AND RECORDING
ü Each school should keep an updated list of pupils receiving free meals.
ü Copies of documentation should be kept with each application form.
ü Records should be available for viewing by auditors or Education Service staff who will visit from time to time.
ü All records must be kept for a minimum of three financial years plus the current financial year.
ü Schools should feel able to request documentary evidence at any time and cease provision of free school meals if there is any cause for concern or belief that the relevant benefits have ceased.
ü Statistical information on the numbers of children receiving free school meals should be available, following termly update from schools, on the SIMS database.
7. REFUNDS
A refund of monies paid to those entitled to free school meals cannot be back dated past the date of the latest application for free school meals, except in cases where schools have been notified of the entitlement but the claimant is not able to provide immediate proof of entitlement. Eligible refunds will not be backdated beyond the current academic year regardless of when the application form was submitted or when the entitlement of the required benefit began.
In these circumstances, the onus of proof will be on the claimant, as the ECS can only confirm current entitlement not entitlement over a previous period. Confirmation will be required from the school of the number of meals paid for during the period of eligibility and a copy of the original free school meal application form with the refund application form must be sent in when claiming.
Procedure
The Authorisation of Refunds will follow the procedure as outlined below:
1) Eligibility for free school meals must be confirmed initially by claimants completing the Application for Free School Meals form.
2) The Application for Refund of School Meals must be completed by the parent/guardian and documentary evidence referring to the period in question must be attached to the form.
3) Section E of the refund form needs to be completed by the Headteacher or delegated person to confirm the attendance, the number of meals paid for, the daily cost and the total refund for the period in question.
4) The Application for Free School Meals, the Refund Application Form and the documentary evidence must all be sent to the Access, Planning, Governance and Business Development Team at West Street House for authorisation.
5) The application will then be processed and the parent & school will be informed as soon as possible if the claim has been successful and any monies owing will be forwarded.
8. SOCIAL SERVICES CARE
Children in care are not automatically entitled to Free School Meals. However, if:
· The carer falls into the definition of ‘parent’ (see above) and is entitled to the relevant benefits, then they may apply; or
· If the ‘care’ is at the agreement of the natural parents, then it possible to take details from the parents and if they are entitled to the relevant benefits, they may make the application; or
· If ‘care’ is without the agreement of the parents then Children’s (Social) Services may fund the meals. With foster care, Children’s Services provide funding to the foster parent. In this situation, contact the child’s social worker/children’s services on (01635) 503155.
9. DETERMINING ELIGIBILITY
The Parent & Student Advice Centre can assist by checking entitlement through the Eligibility Checking Service (ECS). Parents will need to have given their permission for their information to use their details for this purpose – usually this will be through signing the application form, or consent could be given direct to the school from the parent.
If the ECS cannot determine eligibility then the parent will need to provide the appropriate documentary evidence. Please read Section 11 for further information.
In exceptional cases where parents have provided unclear documentary evidence and the ECS has returned a “not found” response, West Berkshire Council can investigate the case further with DCSF or DWP, as appropriate. Schools should contact the Access, Planning, Governance and Business Development Team for further information.
a.) INDIVIDUAL ECS QUERIES
Schools will need to send/give the following details to the Access, Planning, Governance and Business Development Team. The parent’s:
ü National Insurance Number (NINO) or National Asylum Support Service Reference Number (NASS);
ü Surname; and
ü Date of birth.
The Access, Planning, Governance and Business Development Team will then return the result as either:
· Found the child(ren) of this parent are entitled to free school meals.
· Not Found the details given do not match in the database as belonging to that of an individual who is entitled to the relevant benefits. In this case, documentary evidence must be provided for Free School Meals to be authorised/continue.
Contact Details for The Access, Planning, Governance and Business Development Team
Please see the end of these guidance notes.
10. WHAT EVIDENCE CAN BE USED?
If the ECS has come up as ‘Not Found’ then the School must gain confirmation that the family is in receipt of one of these support payments must be obtained before free school meals are provided.
Documentary evidence provided should show the following:
ü National Insurance Number - should match one of those in Section A on the application form.
ü Type of Benefit/Support - must be one of the 5 types as above.
ü Name - should match one of those on the application form.
ü Address - in general should be that of the child
ü Date - should show the support is still clearly current.
Please photocopy any evidence you are shown.
A copy of the documentation viewed to confirm eligibility should be kept with the application form for auditing purposes.
11. DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE
a.) INCOME SUPPORT / INCOME BASED JOB SEEKERS ALLOWANCE / EMPLOYMENT SUPPORT ALLOWANCE
Eligibility for Free School Meals can be confirmed by examination of one of the following, provided that it is clearly current and indicates that the person with whom the child normally resides is in receipt of Income Support, income based Job Seekers Allowance or Employment Support Allowance:
ü Their benefit book – the front and page 3 or 5 of the benefit book (showing the correct type of benefit);
ü A benefits agency/Job Centre Plus letter - showing the correct type of benefit;
ü A current GIRO payment - which will state ‘Inc.Supp.’ or similar abbreviation;
ü If paid directly into a bank account: Initial/last letter showing entitlement to benefit and current bank statements – only if shows the TYPE of benefit (e.g. ‘IS’ or IBJSA’) not just WHO the benefits are from e.g. DSS/JCP.
It is often not easy to determine from the initial documentation whether JSA is income based or contribution based. It is therefore suggested that if difficulty is experienced in obtaining proof, for this or any other situation, see Section 5.
Contact details for Job Centre Plus:
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Reading Job Centre Plus
Adelphi House
Friar Street
Reading
RG1 1HD
Tel: 01189 808 200
Textphone: 0118 9524506
Newbury Job Centre Plus
1st Floor Cromwell House
22 Oxford Street
Newbury
RG14 1JB
Tel: 01635 648 500
Textphone: 01635 64850
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b.) SUPPORT FROM THE NATIONAL ASYLUM SUPPORT SERVICE
ü A letter of confirmation from the National Asylum Support Service (NASS) outlining the support granted, can be accepted as confirmation of eligibility for Free School Meals – typically valid for 6 months.
Contact details for the National Asylum Support Service
For confirmation on a termly basis of National Asylum Support it may be necessary to contact the National Asylum Support Service if the parent is unable to provide evidence. For enquiries regarding NASS applications call the NASS Telephone Enquiry Bureau (TEB) on 0845 602 1739
c.) TAX CREDITS
ü Tax Credit Award Notice – TC602
ü In some circumstances it may be possible for parents to ask their local H.M. Revenue and Customs office for written confirmation (but please note not all offices are happy to do this).
It should be noted that it will not be necessary for schools to calculate a family’s annual taxable income. H.M. Revenue and Customs will perform this income calculation and provide a figure that can be used to determine free school lunch entitlement on a Tax Credit Award notice (TC602).
The following checks will need to be made looking at the front page of the TC602 form:
TAX CREDITS AWARDfrom 06/04/2011 to 05/04/2012 / Ü Shows the dates of the tax credit award. / CHECK 1
These dates must relate to the current tax year.
MR JOHN JONES
National Insurance number AA 12 34 56 C
MRS JANE JONES
National Insurance number CC112001A
Award Summary
Child Tax Credit of £3436.74
will be paid to
MRS JANE JONES / Ü Shows details of all tax credits awarded to the family. / In order to ascertain whether a family is entitled to receive free school lunches for their children, the award notice must show:
CHECK 2 - an award of Child Tax Credit;
(Any award of Working Tax Credit will be stated here.) / CHECK 3 - no award of Working Tax Credit; and
The total award is £3436.74
On Page 2, Part 1 of the Tax Credit Award Notice: