2. Will the Welsh Government make a statement on the effectiveness of the free-school-meals initiative for pupils in Wales? OAQ54750

Our free-school-meals policy rightly targets support towards the most disadvantaged children in our communities. As a result of our new eligibility criteria, by the time universal credit is fully rolled out—if it ever is—we estimate more children will be eligible for free school meals than under the previous system.

Thank you. TCC—that's Trefnu Cymunedol Cymru/Together Creating Communities—is a coalition of over 30 schools, community and faith organisations, and groups across north-east Wales. Last week, I attended the official launch of their all-Wales school hunger campaign at Ysgol y Grango in Rhosllannerchrugog, near Wrexham. Their research had found that many of the most vulnerable pupils aren't getting enough to eat during the school day, with pupils eligible for free school meals spending some of their free-school-meals money on breakfast, because they couldn't get enough resource at home, and, as a result, not having enough money left for the full balanced lunch the free-school-meal allocation was designed to provide. And I pledged there to raise this with you here. Forty-nine per cent of teachers told them that they sometimes had to provide food for pupils themselves, and they said they highlighted the issue not as part of a blame culture anywhere, but because those children need help. How do you respond, therefore, to the campaign's call to increase free-school-meal money to cover breakfast by 80p daily? They said that there were just over 29,000 school pupils affected, and, on current take-up, this was unlikely to cost £3 million per annum, which would address the call of this campaign. So, how do you respond to that call?

Well, firstly, I respond to the call by saying isn't it absolutely incredible, in a nation such as ours, that we have to have a school hunger campaign. Providing an allowance for breakfast for pupils eligible for free school meals in secondary schools is one course of action that I am actively considering at the moment. There are possibly other courses of action, and other solutions, that may be more appropriate to address this problem. What I want to make sure is that whatever we do is appropriate and provides a solution to the issues that the Member outlines. And now, having fulfilled his pledge of raising this issue with me, perhaps Mark Isherwood could do me the courtesy of raising the issue with his party colleagues in Westminster.