Scheduled maintenance

Some of our online forms and systems for Council Tax, Benefits and Business Rates will be unavailable from 6:00pm on Friday 31 March 2023 until Saturday 1 April 2023 for planned maintenance. We apologise for any inconvenience. You can find help with accessing grants, useful advice and money that you may be entitled to by visiting our cost of living support page

Free school meals

Please note that national guidance on free school meals has been updated as part of the government's response to Coronavirus (COVID-19).

To claim a free school meal you should ask your child’s school or nursery for an application form.

Return the completed form to the school/nursery, along with evidence to support your application.

You may be eligible to claim free school meals for your child, up to the age of 19 years, if you (or your child) get one of the following:

Income support
Income-based Jobseeker Allowance
Support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
Child Tax Credit (provided you’re not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190)
Working Tax Credit run-on (paid for the 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit)
The guaranteed element of State Pension Credit
Universal Credit