Conservatives make a dog's breakfast of breakfast promise

The Conservative Party has acknowledged it does not know how much money it will cost to provide free school breakfasts to every primary school pupil in England, after Theresa May unveiled manifesto plans to replace universal lunchtime meals for infants with free breakfasts for every pupil up to the age of 11.

Critics had queried the £60m figure suggested as the new cost in the Tory manifesto, with analysis by Schools Week finding the party’s costing's would result in the equivalent of just 6.8p per pupil to pay for breakfasts. Analysis by Education Datalab suggests the policy is going to cost “something over £200m to £400m." It also suggested that the pilot project, known as Magic Breakfast, which the Tories based their figures on, had not been costed correctly, with the programme relying on volunteers, and staffing costs were likely to be a problem.

( The Times, Page: 12  The Independent, Page: 12  Independent i, Page: 2, 14  The Guardian, Page: 10)