PARENTS were last night being urged to claim free school meals for their children, because it could lead to a £6m investment in education in Darlington.

Council chiefs said that only 18 per cent of the borough's 16,000 pupils claim free school meals.

But if the figure was to reach 24 per cent, which would require a further 800 pupils to claim the meals, there could be an invaluable injection of Government money.

Darlington Borough Council officials believe there are many parents whose children may be entitled to free school meals, but who are not claiming them.

Those parents will be the target of a campaign to raise awareness of the issue.

A leaflet outlining full details of how to claim free school meals and who might be eligible has been distributed to all schools.

The council is also looking at other ways of contacting parents who might be entitled to claim.

Even if parents do not wish to take up the opportunity of free school meals, by registering their claim they could still be opening the way to millions of pounds of extra funding for local schools. The council said that in addition to the potential benefits to schools, parents who make a claim could save up to £30 a month on meals per child.

The numbers of pupils claiming free school meals is set as an indicator of the level of deprivation in any area.

Once this level reaches 24 per cent, a local authority will be eligible to claim further funding from different Government sources such as Excellence in Cities, which can provide up to £6m a year.

Cabinet member for education, Stephen Harker, said: "There are many families out there who are entitled to free school meals who are not claiming them, so we are urging all parents who may be eligible for free school meals to make a claim.

"The potential benefit of increasing the number of pupils receiving free school meals could be extra funding for schools, but more important for local families is the fact that they could make considerable savings on school meals."

For more details, parents can contact the education department at the town hall on (01325) 388810.