Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:04 pm on 15 December 2020.
Llywydd, all those arguments were arguments that led a Labour Government to introduce universal free meals in primary schools, because we have free breakfasts in primary schools that are free to all children. And it was exactly that sort of multiple objective that led the Cabinet at the time to find the money to invest in it. Free breakfasts provide food for children who otherwise would go without, they make their learning more effective because they have food in their stomachs and are able to concentrate on their learning, it provides particularly for those families who are on the edge of working, because if you don't have to pay for the child to be looked after or the child to be fed, then your ability to take up a job or to carry out more hours in that work are improved as well. So, the smart bringing together of multiple objectives is exactly what any Government would wish to do and, as I say, you can see it every single day in that progressive and universal service that free breakfasts in our primary schools represent.