Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:15 pm on 3 November 2020.
If I can return us, First Minister, to free school meals, I'd associate myself with a lot of what Joyce Watson said about how positive it is that we are still providing those, particularly in school holiday times. The First Minister will be aware of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation report that was published yesterday, calling for a Welsh benefits system. One of the issues that we still have with free school meals is that approximately 20 per cent of those families who are entitled are still not taking that up.
Now, it has been put to me that there may be an issue, particularly in some smaller communities—for example, the village communities in the Gwendraeth, places like Pontyberem, Pontyates and Tumble—where people may still feel some stigma in making a request for this support. Can I invite the First Minister today to re-emphasise that this is not in any sense charity? This is an entitlement that we all would want every single family who are entitled to it to take up. What more can the Welsh Government do, working with communities and with local authorities, to ensure that every single child who is entitled to support so that they are not hungry here in our country does get that support?