6. Will the First Minister make a statement on efforts to reduce child poverty? OAQ54648

I thank Mike Hedges for that. The Welsh Government’s efforts to reduce child poverty focus on those practical mitigating measures that lie in our hands and which leave money in the pockets of families who most need it.

Thank you for that answer, First Minister. Every summer, children go hungry. many parents lose 10 free meals per child per week when schools are closed. I would commend the work of my colleague Carolyn Harris, who fed well over 5,000 children during the summer in Swansea East, but that certainly was not getting to all those who were losing out on the free food. Will the First Minister cost a continuation of free school breakfasts across the summer holiday, and then look to fund it? This would be probably the best way of dealing with child poverty in Wales. 

I thank Mike Hedges for that very important question. It's a sobering fact, Llywydd, that we can hear a sentence in this Assembly that says 'every summer children go hungry here in Wales'. We surely ought not just to be willing to hear that as though it were a matter of course and something that we shouldn't do something about. Of course, I commend the work of Carolyn Harris in Swansea, which gained a lot of interest and attention over the summer of this year.

Llywydd, there are over 61,000 children in Wales who are receiving a free breakfast in our primary schools at the census date at the start of this year. The funding has long gone into the revenue support grant, as we would expect it to do. In this Assembly term, our focus as a Government has been on the school holiday enrichment programme, SHEP. We funded it to the tune of £0.5 million in the first two years of this Assembly term. That rose to £900,000 in this financial year, and, when money is so scarce, it really is an indication of the priority that this Government puts on dealing with the practical impact of poverty in the lives of those children who need our help the most. The SHEP programme provides a meal for children, but much more than a meal. It involves parents in the preparation of that meal. It involves a focus on nutritional standards. It provides physical activity for children as part of the programme. It deals with holiday learning loss. It's been now rolled out to 21 of the 22 local authorities across Wales, and that additional funding—£100,000 of that has gone to third sector organisations, and some of that for the first time will be used to relieve holiday hunger during the recent October half term.

So, I absolutely agree with the points that Mike Hedges has made about the importance of this subject, and want to celebrate something of the achievements of those organisations who are working, with our support, to make such a difference in the lives of children. 

According to the report recently published by Great School Libraries, only 67 per cent of schools in Wales have access to a designated school library space. Schools in England, however, are up to a third more likely to have a library. Now, the disparity indicates again the inequality of opportunity of pupil space in Wales compared to England. A lack of libraries is hitting our poorest children the hardest. Now, schools with a higher proportion of children eligible for free school meals are also more than twice as likely not to have a designated library space on site. So, we do have a long way to go, First Minister, to improve the situation in Wales because only 9 per cent of schools are thought to even have a library budget. So, will you work with school leaders and the library community and, indeed, your Minister to develop new investment in school libraries with the aim of balancing inequality of access and provision?

Llywydd, lack of food is hurting our poorest children hardest in Wales, and that includes the 50,000 additional children who will end this decade in poverty compared to when her Government came into power in 2010.

I'm sure my colleague the education Minister has heard what the Member has said about libraries, but this question began with children who go hungry in the holiday, and that's where I think my thoughts have been focused this afternoon.