Gorton and Denton MP backs free school meals and local transport plans

Andrew Gwynne, MP for Gorton and Denton, has come out in support of the Labour government’s plans to deliver a free nutritious meal every school day for over half a million more children, and the improved transport plans for Greater Manchester.

Andrew Gwynne, MP for Gorton and Denton, has come out in support of the Labour government’s plans to deliver a free nutritious meal every school day for over half a million more children, as Labour puts £500 back into parents’ pockets every year by expanding eligibility for free school meals.

From the start of the 2026 school year, every pupil whose household is on Universal Credit will have a new entitlement to free school meals. This will make life easier and more affordable for parents who struggle the most, delivering on Labour’s Plan for Change to break down barriers to opportunity and give children the best start in life.

The unprecedented expansion will lift 100,000 children across England completely out of poverty. Giving children the access to a nutritious meal during the school day also leads to higher attainment, improved behaviour and better outcomes – meaning they get the best possible education and chance to succeed in work and life.

Since 2018, children have only been eligible for free school meals if their household income is less than £7,400 per year, meaning hundreds of thousands of children living in poverty has been unable to access free school meals.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “Working parents across the country are working tirelessly to provide for their families but are being held back by cost-of-living pressures.

“My government is taking action to ease those pressures. Feeding more children every day, for free, is one of the biggest interventions we can make to put more money in parents’ pockets, tackle the stain of poverty, and set children up to learn.

“This expansion is a truly historic moment for our country, helping families who need it most and delivering our Plan for Change to give every child, no matter their background, the same chance to succeed.”

Andrew Gwynne, MP for Gorton and Denton said: “I know from my casework how much the stain of child poverty has impacted families in Gorton and Denton.

“That’s why I fully support this decisive and much needed action to expand entitlement for free school meals, lifting children across Gorton and Denton out of poverty and putting money back in parents’ pockets.

“Children across Gorton and Denton deserve the best start in life, and I’m proud that Labour is delivering this through the Plan for Change.”

This new entitlement will apply to children in all settings where free school meals are currently delivered, including schools, school-based nurseries and Further Education settings. We expect the majority of schools will allow parents to apply before the start of the school year 2026, by providing their National Insurance Number to check their eligibility.

Schools and local authorities will continue to receive pupil premium and home to school transport extended rights funding based on the existing free school meals threshold.

The Chancellor also announced that working people in Greater Manchester will benefit from a £2.5bn investment in local transport. This forms part of the biggest ever investment in buses, trams and local train infrastructure in city regions as she promises the renewal of Britain to make all parts of the country better off.

For Greater Manchester this means:

· New tram stops on the existing network

· 1,000 more electric Bee Network buses

· Tram-trains operating across Greater Manchester’s rail network (the Denton line is identified for future services in the TfGM 2040 plan)

· New transport interchanges

· A cash commitment to a long-awaited Metrolink extension to Stockport.

· Fast new Manchester-Liverpool (via the airports) rail link

· New underground railway station for the Liverpool -Manchester-Yorkshire services at Piccadilly.

In a speech in Greater Manchester, Reeves said that “a Britain that is better off cannot rely on a handful of places forging ahead of the rest of the country,” adding that “result of such thinking has been growth created in too few places, felt by too few people and wide gaps between regions, and between our cities and towns.”

The Labour Government’s spending review next week will take different choices, with investment in a new economic model – driven by investment in all parts of the country, not just a few. The Chancellor unveiled the first investment announcements from the spending review, with £15.6 billion of funding for local transport projects in England’s city regions – including South Yorkshire, North East, East Midlands and Tees Valley. The funding – a more than double realterms increase in capital spending on local transport in city regions by 2029/30 compared with 2024/25 - will empower local leaders to invest in transport projects that will make a difference to their local area.

Andrew Gwynne, MP for Gorton and Denton, said: “I am delighted to welcome this significant investment in northern transport projects.

“I will now be pressing Mayor Andy Burnham to bring tram-train to Denton utilising the existing infrastructure.