Questions Without Notice from the Party Leaders

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:51 pm on 26 January 2021.

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Photo of Mark Drakeford Mark Drakeford Labour 1:51, 26 January 2021

Well, we don't resist the recommendation. Llywydd, the changes that we have made to free school meals eligibility will result in thousands more children in Wales being able to take up free school meals than was the case under the previous eligibility regime. So, it is simply untrue to say that we have not take account of what the Member quite fairly quoted as not being Government policy, but our account of the suggestions that were made to us during the review. Now, the review was concluded before the global pandemic began. In November of last year, we published our child poverty income maximisation action plan. It was part of that plan that led us to invest an additional £52 million in free school meals in the current financial year to ensure the continued provision of free school meals during school holidays here in Wales. It's a very direct response to the comments that were collected during the review.