Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:41 pm on 24 May 2022.
Thank you very much. The Healthy Start scheme is a welfare food scheme, which, as you're aware, is not devolved for Wales. However, the Deputy Minister for Mental Health and Well-being wrote to the Secretary of State, I think, at the end of last year, and has also written again to ask and really push for an uplift in the scheme. Isn't that just one way the UK Government could help with the cost-of-living crisis? I think the Deputy Minister is really keen to see Healthy Start eligibility until a child starts primary school—I think that would help—increasing the household income threshold to create consistency with that for free school meals. That would help support our most vulnerable children. So, there are lots of things that could be done. In fairness, I do think the Secretary of State has allowed their officials to engage with the Deputy Minister's officials to try and see where they can do more, and I know that those discussions are ongoing. The Deputy Minister has also asked her officials to explore devolving welfare foods, and we do intend to undertake an independent review of the Healthy Start scheme here in Wales later this year, in the autumn.
In relation to food justice, again, 8 million people across the UK is a truly horrific figure. The Minister for Social Justice led a food poverty round-table, which I was very pleased to join, just the week before last, and we discussed the ongoing urgency of the cost-of-living crisis and the impact of rising prices, and, of course, the effect that high energy prices also has on food poverty. The Minister and I heard from representatives from some of our foodbanks, who were saying that they've had to completely rethink what food they give out in food parcels, because people can't afford to heat food, which is truly appalling. The Minister for Social Justice is looking at the funding. We have allocated £3.9 million to support action that really tackles the root causes of food poverty, building on the success of previous work that she's brought forward, and there will be an announcement soon on how the funding will be distributed this year.