Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:39 pm on 20 September 2022.
I thank Laura Anne Jones for those three questions, and for her support for the policy. In relation to the first question on capital investment, she'll have heard me say that there has been a significant programme of investment in infrastructure upgrades. A lot of that has happened over the course of the summer, and the overall budget committed to that has now been increased to £60 million. The entirety of that work was never envisaged to take place over the summer; some of it will be taking place in advance of the April target date as well, so it'll be scheduled in that way. And there will, of course, be work that is done over next year's summer break as well in preparation for the roll-out in the second year of the programme.
The work that was done over the summer has meant that most schools in Wales are now delivering; the overwhelming majority are delivering to reception school children, and she will have heard me say that many are also delivering to years 1 and 2 already in advance of the April deadline. There are a small number of schools where the works, for example, for their kitchen upgrades, haven't been completed. In those very small numbers of schools, there is a short-term interim arrangement in place for cold food, but high-quality, nutritious cold food, to be provided on a temporary basis, and parents of children in those schools have been notified of that. But there is, as I say, an ongoing programme of work that will continue into the second of these two years in any event.
On the question of nutritious food, I think this is a really important opportunity for us as part of this roll-out, and, as I was saying in the statement, to connect children to the source and origins of their food. That fundamental insight is so important. It's also really important, by the way, as part of their broader learning as part of the school curriculum, and there are many schools in Wales that are already looking at how this offer can be used as part of their broader curriculum offer, which I absolutely welcome.
She will, I think, probably know that I've already announced our intention to undertake a review of the Healthy Eating in Schools (Nutritional Standards and Requirements) (Wales) Regulations 2013, and I'll be saying more about that shortly to Members. But what we have done in the interim, if you like, is to attach to the terms and conditions for the grant funding to local authority partners a set of interim requirements, pending that broader piece of work, which, again, requires—as you will not be surprised to hear—compliance with those regulations, but also local procurement and maximising, if you like, the opportunity for Welsh produce to appear on menus. So, that's already part of the arrangements currently in place, but there is a lot more that we want to do and a lot more that can be done. That work is under way. There are several work streams within the Government on food supply, on procurement, on the role of the foundational economy in this together with, as I was mentioning, the intended review of the healthy eating regulations. So, I hope to come back and talk further about that as this unfolds, but I do want to be very clear: I regard this as an important part of the offer.
And finally, she mentioned how will we keep an eye, if you like, on the roll-out. There are very clear target dates in the roll-out both for the first and second year. The vast majority of schools will be able to meet those dates; some, as you know, are already ahead of them. Where there are challenges—and there is a small number of authorities that are not yet able to say to us that they are confident that they can make sure that all of their schools can deliver to years 1 and 2 in April—we are working with those on the very specific challenges that they have. Sometimes, it's about infrastructure and capital works. Sometimes, there are other reasons, but we're working with them and we're confident that we'll be able to resolve those questions, and then I'll be able to publish the overall timetable for each school. But I want to give them the opportunity of committing to that timetable in advance.