I thank noble Lords for their welcome for this proposal. I look forward to hearing the report from Dagenham. The department will be very interested in that trial. I say to the noble Baroness, Lady Lister, that pupil premium funding will not be affected by the introduction of universal school meals for infant pupils. In particular, the funding for the next financial year 2014-15 is informed by school census data collected in the January 2014 school census. This census is taking place prior to the introduction of universal infant free school meals. In subsequent years, we will be gathering the same data in the school census on the number of pupils whose families are in receipt of the relevant benefits that currently entitle the children to a free school meal. This information will be used to allocate pupil premium funding, as well as other deprivation-related school funding.
In terms of evaluating the impact of this policy, it will obviously be carefully monitored. The universal free school meals pilot provided a full and compelling evaluation of the benefits and challenges of the policy, as I have just laid out. We will be measuring the take-up of lunches via the school census and are sure that others will want to measure the specific benefits arising from this policy.
There are currently no plans to extend the universal free school meals eligibility to further age groups. It will be for future Governments to decide whether they want to do so. However, we thought that it was important, while we were asking Parliament to consider legislating on the principle of this, to include an enabling power to give future Governments the flexibility to extend the policy using secondary rather than primary legislation. This of course will still be subject to the will of Parliament.
I think that I have covered everything, although I am not sure whether I have covered all the points raised by the noble Baroness, Lady Jones. If I have
not, then, given the hour, I will write to noble Lords. Once again, I thank your Lordships very much for their welcome of this policy.