We remain the only Government in the United Kingdom to provide universal breakfast for primary school pupils and of course, we have plans to see what we can do to extend that provision for year 7 pupils. We were the first Government to confirm funding over the Easter and half-term holidays in 2020 and funding for the provision of free school meals from September 2020 through to Easter 2021, and that does indeed include half-term holidays, Mike Hedges.

We have made the most generous provision of any UK Government available of £19.50 per child, per week. And we were also the first Government to provide funding of an additional £1.28 million to meet the additional costs incurred by local government during the first two weeks of the autumn term to cover the phased return to schooling. And we were also the first Government to agree funding for children who are shielding or self-isolating so that they continue to receive support if they are unable to attend school through no fault of their own. In total, we have committed over £52 million to ensure that children eligible for free school meals do not go hungry during these unprecedented times.

I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank our partners in local government across Wales, to acknowledge the speed in which they responded to the original call to arms, their creative and innovative approaches, and for the hard work and dedication of their officers who have been so crucial in ensuring that families are supported. And can I also take this opportunity to thank catering staff, who've been working in really challenging conditions since schools returned for the September term? Many of you have heard me say before: my Grandma was the school cook for many years in Blaenymaes Primary School in Mike Hedges's constituency. She peeled a lot of potatoes for those kids, but I also know that she was one of the most beloved and important parts of her school community and that stands true for many of our catering staff who work in our schools today.

During the course of the pandemic, there has been an increase in the number of families applying for universal credit. And while not all new claimants will receive universal credit, there has definitely been an increase in families seeking their free school meal entitlement for their children. The UK Government's introduction of universal credit meant that we had to change the eligibility criteria for free school meals in Wales and it's important to note that no additional funding was, or has been, provided to the Welsh Government to manage the impact of this change, which, frankly, is a disgrace. But nonetheless, we provided additional funding of £5 million to local authorities in 2018-19 and £7 million through the local government settlement in 2019-20 and for 2021. 

We've also introduced transitional protection to ensure that any change to the eligibility criteria would cause the minimum disruption possible. This means that pupils eligible for free school meals will be protected against losing them until the roll-out is complete, even if their eligibility does change. We estimate that the total number of children receiving transitional protection in any given year, during the universal credit roll-out period, will run into the tens of thousands, which the Welsh Government is committed to supporting. I have made a commitment to keep the threshold constant until the end of the universal credit roll-out period because I want to ensure that those who are in most need of support are benefiting. But I have also given a commitment to undertake a review of the threshold when the next set of pupil level annual school census data becomes available to me. 

Like many people in the Chamber, who have expressed a view this afternoon, I remain concerned about the plight of children in families with no recourse to public funds who are living in poverty. However, local authorities have used, and will continue to use, their discretion to support families without an income and who are not immediately able to claim public funds. I want to continue to encourage local authorities to use that discretion and we will consider making formal amendments to complex legislation once the impact of COVID-19 has ceased and there are additional resources available to legal services.

I've listened very carefully to what has been said here today, and I know just how important free school meals are to the families who rely upon them. But there is a balance to be struck in ensuring that those most in need are provided with a means of accessing free school meals, while, at the same time, ensuring that our proposals are affordable. We do not, unfortunately, have an unlimited budget. We also need to be clear on the costs of proposals to expand eligibility. We estimate that to provide free school meals to every child whose parents receive universal credit would cost an additional £67 million a year. If we were providing free school meals to just primary school children, it would cost around £92 million a year. And if we provided free school meals to every learner of compulsory school age, it would cost around £169 million. So, if Plaid are serious about their proposals—and I have no reason to believe that they are not; and, indeed, the vision is a commendable one—they need to be absolutely clear what public services will be cut to provide that funding. And they need to be open with the public where they will begin to make that £160 million saving.

As a Government, we have a responsibility to use public money effectively by ensuring that free school meals get to those most in need, and at the present time, with the limited budget provided to us by the UK Government, I believe that the current targeted approach is the most effective use of public resources. However, that does not stop the Welsh Government from being creative and innovative, and I believe that we should acknowledge how effective our approach during COVID has been—and there are lessons for the longer term to have been learnt—whilst giving a commitment to work with our stakeholders to continue to look for opportunities, as I said, to help those most in need. But I want to thank everybody for their contributions this afternoon. Diolch yn fawr.