How South Cambridgeshire District Council and Cambridgeshire County Council increased Free School Meals take up through a pioneering data sharing partnership

Despite rising food costs and increasing pressure on family budgets, many children in South Cambridgeshire who were eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) were not receiving them. Some parents were unaware of the support, assumed they would not qualify, or found the application process complex.

The district council could identify families likely to be entitled to FSM, but it could not see which families were already claiming. The county council, which holds school census data, could see those already claiming but not those who were entitled but not claiming.

Without combining datasets, neither authority had a full picture. This meant dozens of children who should have been receiving Free School Meals were going without a daily nutritious meal and schools were missing out on the associated funding.

The councils needed a way to identify families that were entitled but not claiming, and remove every barrier to accessing support.

To solve this, South Cambridgeshire District Council and Cambridgeshire County Council developed a pioneering data sharing agreement. It is one of the first agreements of its kind between a district and county council in England.

This collaboration allowed the councils to:

• Quickly identify families who were entitled and not claiming
• Deliver targeted and personalised communications
• Work with schools and Family Centres to reach families in trusted settings
• Offer clear guidance on how to apply for FSM
• Reduce the administrative burden on families who might not otherwise come forward

Using Policy in Practice’s LIFT platform, officers securely combined datasets to create a clear, reliable list of families who were eligible but not claiming. The families were then contacted by letter, email and telephone and encouraged to apply.

This pioneering agreement is one of the first where a county council and district council have worked collaboratively to share the necessary data. It represents a significant step forward in how two-tier authorities can use shared data to better support children and families.

Councillor Edna Murphy emphasised the importance of this combined approach:

“By combining innovative technology with a strong commitment to supporting our most vulnerable families, we’ve been able to reach those missing out on vital help. I’m extremely proud that Cambridgeshire councils are leading the way in making sure no eligible child is left behind.”
Councillor Edna Murphy, Chair of the Children and Young People Committee, Cambridgeshire County Council

The collaboration has already delivered significant and lasting benefits.

For families

• 81 additional children are now receiving Free School Meals
• The support is worth £314,000 to the 66 families over the lifetime of their claims
• Parents report reduced financial pressure and improved wellbeing

One young parent from Cambourne shared the impact:

“It really will make all the difference. I’ve been going without things to try and pay for their meals. I’ve gone without things like clothing and haircuts because there just wasn’t enough money that month. It’s not just the school meals. It helps with everything.”

For schools

• South Cambridgeshire schools receive additional pupil premium funding for every child claiming FSM
• This has already delivered £116,555 in the first year alone
• The total value of this additional funding is expected to exceed £1,020,560 over the lifetime of the claims

This funding helps schools to:

• provide additional teaching support
• improve inclusion and engagement
• strengthen outcomes for disadvantaged pupils

These gains ensure more children have access to nutritious food and that families receive financial support at a time of rising living costs.

By working together, the district and county councils demonstrated how data can break down longstanding visibility barriers, helping ensure that eligible families do not miss out simply because the system cannot see them.

1. Data collaboration unlocks eligibility insight neither council can access alone: District-level benefits data and county-level school census data tell a useful story only when combined
2. Automatic support removes barriers for families: By identifying eligible households and contacting them proactively, barriers to claiming are removed and families get support faster
3. Schools benefit significantly from increased FSM registrations: Additional pupil premium funding provides long term value that strengthens educational outcomes
4. Technology enables simple, secure partnership working: Using LIFT as the shared analytical tool allowed both councils to target support quickly and accurately
5. This model is replicable for counties across the country: The partnership provides a blueprint for councils seeking to close the FSM gap and increase take up effectively and ethically