The Welsh Government has explained why it halted its free food programme to help the poorest children in the holidays and won’t be re-instating it. The £3m a week scheme ended last May at the same time as universal free school meals to all primary school age children, regardless of income, was getting underway.
In an “impact statement”, Cardiff Bay said continuing the scheme would affect other frontline services. It said it could not afford to help the more than 100,000 poorest children, who were eligible for holiday food provision, worth £19.50 per eligible child per week, under the scheme.
It said some families might not have been spending the money and vouchers provided for holiday food wisely, and it was up to the UK Government to help them via the benefits system. When the scheme was first introduced and extended it was praised by Marcus Rashford and others.
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “The Minister for Education and Welsh Language was asked to decide whether to reinstate funding for holiday free school meal provision for October half term and subsequent school holidays. Unfortunately, due to the significant financial pressures facing the Welsh budget, provision of free school meals during the holidays has ceased indefinitely.”
Doctors' representatives in Wales criticised the decision, saying they saw "every day" the effects of malnutrition on children here. The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health in Wales urged Cardiff Bay to have a re-think. The RCPCH said: “Every day, we see the impact of hunger and malnutrition in our work as paediatricians. It is not unusual for us to care for children who don’t have enough to eat or who don’t have access to a substantial meal outside of what is provided in school."
