Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:52 pm on 26 January 2021.
Of course, the actions that have been taken now during the pandemic are welcome, but the children's commissioner has made the point that we do need to see the review, which is looking at what can be done beyond the immediate, turned into a concrete plan of action. Many people working in this field are pointing out that Wales has the least generous provision for free school meals across the UK. Your Government's policy, as the child poverty action group has pointed out, means that 70,000 children living below the poverty line in Wales are currently excluded, and that's why we in Plaid Cymru, alongside many of those that responded to this review—charities, young people, local authorities—have made the case for immediately extending free school meals to any child in any family receiving universal credit or equivalent benefit. We know you've done the costings on that, First Minister, because you told us last week, but what is the long-term cost of allowing child poverty to persist? The children of Wales will be a priority in our manifesto—can you say the same, First Minister?