Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:52 pm on 20 September 2022.
[Inaudible.]—that Sarah Murphy raises, Dirprwy Lywydd. And the question with which any Government in this situation wrestles, really, is, given the scale of the cost-of-living challenge that families are facing, there is a high premium on rolling out as much as possible across the system as quickly as possible. And that, at the end of the day, was the judgment that we reached, and, obviously, in agreement with Plaid Cymru. Does that mean that there aren't a small number of schools that aren't able to offer that full hot meal provision to all their reception—? So, there are, as I was saying, a handful of schools in that position. The funding, both the £25 million and the £35 million, has been allocated, so authorities know what it is from that pot of money—and they've known for some weeks—what it is from that pot of money that they are going to be able to draw on. So, that then supports them to do the work they need in order to be able to deliver the broader commitment.
I also wanted to be sure that no child currently having free school meals under the current—or the previous at this point—eligibility criteria would be any worse off as a consequence of rolling out the new extended arrangement. That was a very key principle for us at the heart of this.
But I just want to reiterate, really, the extraordinary effort that all local authorities in Wales have made to deliver on what has been a really punishing time frame in all honesty, against a number of other very important priorities and commitments that we would all want them to be focused on as well. And to be able to be in this position after only nine months, I think—. I can't remember the exact period, but, when Scotland introduced equivalent arrangements, I think it was probably twice as long as that. So, to be able to be at this point in time over that short period I think is a real testament to the level of collaboration and commitment, actually, in all authorities to making a success of this policy.