THOUSANDS of children entitled to free school meals are failing to take up the offer despite on-going campaigns by local authorities.

Children throughout the region are entitled to claim free school lunches if their parents are on state benefits or have a low income, yet many fail to do so.

In Darlington, 19pc of the 16,000 primary and secondary pupils are registered as eligible to claim free meals, although figures suggest that only 14pc do so.

A spokesman for the borough council said meals went unclaimed for a number of reasons, including a lack of awareness of the system and a fear of an attached stigma.

She said: "We are working to knock down the barriers to claiming meals. There are systems in place, such as pre-paid schemes, which mean that other pupils will probably be totally unaware that person next to them in the line is claiming free meals. Children won't be open to embarrassment and we want the child to be able to claim what she or he is entitled to."

In a bid to gain extra Government funding the council launched an advertising campaign last year, urging all eligible families to register their children for free meals.

If the registered figure reaches 24pc, which equates to a further 800 pupils claiming meals, the council can claim up to £6m extra from different sources.

The spokesman said: "We have seen an increase in the number of people claiming but the campaign is on-going. Households with an annual income of less than £14,000 a year are eligible and claiming meals can save up to £30 a month per child, so it is a substantial family saving."

In Durham, figures suggest that there are 8,800 primary school pupils eligible to claim, with 82pc taking up the offer. The figure drops when pupils reach secondary school, with only 68pc of the 5,600 eligible pupils claiming meals.

A spokesman said meals were not claimed for a combination of reasons. He said: "Some children prefer to get outside and away from the dining environment, some don't like queuing and some don't stay for meals because their friends don't.

"There are also some families who choose not to claim the meals even though they are entitled to. However, an Ofsted inspection last year found that our take up of meals to be higher than the national average."

Around 500 free school meals go unclaimed each day in Stockton primary schools, with more than 13pc of registered eligible children choosing not to claim. In secondary schools the figures suggest that more than 37pc of eligible pupils are not claiming.

A spokesman for the borough council said: "Not all pupils claim the meals each day, but it's complicated as to why they avoid taking them up. When they get to a certain age some children don't want to be seen taking free meals, but we are trying to remove any stigma.

"The council publishes details of how to register for free meals, which are distributed by the schools, but the responsibility for getting more children to claim their meals lies with the schools' governors rather than the local education authority."

In primary schools across Redcar and Cleveland, figures suggest that 88pc of the 375 eligible pupils claim meals. In secondary schools only 67pc of the 720 eligible pupils choose to claim.

A spokesman for the council said: "These are only provisional figures because it is a fluctuating picture. Some schools do very well in encouraging children to claim, while others are not doing so well.

In North Yorkshire 83pc of primary school pupils entitled to claim meals do so, while the rate in secondary schools is above the national average, with 77pc of eligible pupils taking up the offer. This equates to an average of two unclaimed meals per primary school and 12 per secondary school.

Coun Carl Les, who is responsible for the school catering service, said: "In the county we serve over 6.5 million meals a year and believe the quality of our school catering service is good.

"We believe the reason why most pupils do not take their entitlement is down to individual choice - for instance many secondary school pupils leave the school premises at lunchtime. It may be that some pupils do not like school meals and we are constantly looking to find ways to improve the range of foods on offer."

He said the council was piloting a scheme in Richmond to use local produce in school meals, and that many secondary schools were improving their dining areas.

Coun Les said the council was working to ensure that claiming the free meals was as easy as possible.

He said: "We would welcome any changes to the method of applications which would ensure that all pupils who are entitled to a free school meal are registered, and take their meal daily."