Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Education – in the Senedd at 2:38 pm on 21 October 2020.
Thank you, Siân. Wales, back in the spring of this year, was the first part of the United Kingdom to announce continued support for families entitled to free school meals during school holidays, and I am very pleased to have been able to work with the finance Minister to obtain an additional £11 million, which will ensure that children who are entitled to free school meals will continue to receive that support during this half term, during the Christmas holiday, the February half term and, indeed, the Easter holidays. We keep under review our range of support for families who find themselves in financial difficulties at that time. We know that schools are seeing an increase in the number of children who are now eligible, sadly, for free school meals, which is adding additional pressure to budgets. But we are determined not to forget those children for whom school is about so much more than just learning, and to ensure that those families have some certainty with regard to support for their children during what is, as I said, a very uncertain time.