As primary school pupils head back to school this month, thousands more are sitting down to a free hot and nutritious meal.

But only in London.

Boroughs across the capital have extended the offer of a free meal at lunchtime to every primary pupil – almost an extra 300,000 children – as rising food prices and the cost of living continues to bite. Some councils have expanded this even further to include some teenagers too.

In England, the government provides funding for meals for all pupils - but only up to Year 2 or ages six and seven.

Only families whose household income falls below £7,400, that’s barely £600 a month, are considered sufficiently on the breadline to apply.

Yet, the Institute of Fiscal Studies calculates that a further 1.5 million children in the country - considered poor enough for their household to receive Universal Credit - don’t meet the considerably narrower and tighter criteria for a free school dinner.

How many thousands does that mean are left going hungry every week?

How can a child, living in a home being kept afloat by state benefits, not be entitled to ask for a subsidised £2.50 school meal is baffling.

The Food Foundation says the number of households experiencing ‘food insecurity’ has doubled in the last 12 months as everything from food bills to energy prices and mortgage costs have rocketed exponentially.

The cost of living crisis – it says – is having a devastating impact on the youngest generation where its mental health, physical health, long-term learning and social development all risk being irreversibly affected by a lack of available nutritious food.

At the same time it’s been suggested the government is considering a real-term benefits cut this autumn by not increasing state support in line with inflation.

Putting aside the fact that around 40% of claimants are working and use help like Universal Credit to boost a low wage, if you’re attempting to tackle the UK’s welfare bill - short of only inflating state benefits for those with children – someone needs to address the pressing issue of hungry kids.

Ministers in Wales say they are – all primary school children will get paid-for school meals by 2024. Despite Sadiq Khan leading the charge in London, Labour leader Keir Starmer has so far ducked out of making the same pledge for England should he come to power after the next election.

And even if a lack of food on the table is perceived to be nothing but the parents’ fault – no innocent child should have their health or wellbeing put at risk because of scenarios they don’t control.

In the same way that we continue to treat smokers for tobacco-related disease and we don't means test anyone’s ability to pay for their NHS medical care, primary pupils shouldn’t have to make a case to be fed.