With England poised to introduce lunches for every infant child, the North is planning to open up its own meals scheme to 15,000 more pupils in post-primary schools.
In Northern Ireland, free school meals are usually provided to children whose parents receive benefits or whose family income is less than £16,190.
Of the 80,000 pupils entitled to free school meals in 2012/13, just 27,701 were at post-primary schools. Only about 19 per cent of all secondary-age students in the North are entitled.
At present, primary school children whose parents are entitled to working tax credits receive meals, although they lose the entitlement when they transfer to secondary school.
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