Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:42 pm on 28 June 2022.
Well, I thank Heledd Fychan for those important points. As she herself said, we can see the cost of living increasing almost every week. Last week, the Office for National Statistics published their monthly figures, which demonstrated that the cost of living has gone up 9.1 per cent. in May, but that transport costs had increased by 13.8 per cent in that same period. So, we can see, of course, the impact that that has on people the length and breadth of Wales. I have seen the report, published following the work done at the school in Llanishen, and, of course, it's important to hear what respondents to that research said. There's more than one way to resolve the problems that were raised. It's important that we do more to help people who live within the catchment to walk or cycle or to have a safe route to school. We, as a Government, will invest more than £200,000 in those programmes over the next three years.
But, at the end of the day, I have to tell the Member and other Members that we only have one pot of money as a Government. When we agree our priorities, we do have to pursue those priorities. And our priority, in the agreement with Plaid Cymru, is to use the new funding that we have in order to provide free school meals to all primary aged children. Now, when we have such priorities and only one pot of money available, well, we will have to pursue those things that we have agreed on first.