NDM7598 Plaid Cymru debate - Free school meals eligibility
NDM7598 Plaid Cymru debate - Free school meals eligibility
NDM7598 Sian Gwenllian (Arfon)
To propose that the Senedd:
Calls on the Welsh Government to ensure that
the unallocated fiscal resource in the draft 2021-22 budget is used in the
final budget for 2021-22 to expand free school meal eligibility criteria to
include all children in families in receipt of universal credit or equivalent benefit
and any child in a family with no recourse to public funds.
Amendment 1 – Rebecca Evans (Gower)
Delete all and replace with:
1. Believes that it is unacceptable in a
modern society that children still go hungry and that we will continue to
step-up all our efforts in the provision of free school meals to stamp out the
scourge of poverty and hunger.
2. Welcomes that the Welsh Government:
a) provided over £50 million of additional
funding to ensure the continued provision of free school meals during the
pandemic and was the first government in the UK to provide provision during
school holidays;
b) provided additional funding to ensure that
children who are self-isolating or shielding continue to receive free school
meal provision when they are not able to attend school;
c) provides funding of £19.50 per week to free
school meal-eligible families, which is the most generous provision in the UK;
d) ensured that Wales remains the only country
in the UK to have a universal free breakfasts in primary schools scheme;
e) has been recognised by the Education Policy
Institute (EPI) for being successful in ensuring families eligible for free school
meals during the pandemic had “access to timely and appropriate support”;
f) is committed to a rapid review of all
available resource and policy options including the income threshold for
receiving free school meals based on the Pupil Level Annual School Census
(PLASC) data.
Business type: Debate
Status: For consideration
First published: 03/06/2021