Councils will get an extra £8m to give all primary children, regardless of income, free lunch each day. The extra cash is to cover rising costs and adds 20p per meal
Councils are being handed an extra £8m by the Welsh Government to provide free school meals for all primary school children. The price spent per meal will rise from £3.20 to £3.40.
The extra cash, over two years, reflects the rising cost of providing free school meals, Education Minister Lynne Neagle said. The announcement comes as Wales’ largest local education authority revealed one in four of its pupils don’t take up the offer of free food.
Cardiff Council said its latest data shows more than 25% of primary-aged children in the city haven’t signed up for the free school meals, a key Welsh Government education policy since 2022.
Since Wales introduced universal primary free school meals, regardless of family income, three years ago, 57 million primary school meals have been served under the programme. The offer does not extend to all secondary pupils. Read the biggest stories in Wales first by signing up to our daily newsletter here.
The Welsh Government said last term that while there are currently no plans to extend the offer of universal free school meals to secondary-aged children the eligibility criteria is “under review in the longer term”.
Once pupils go on to secondary school they are no longer entitled to free school meals regardless of income. The offer then depends on family income even if they receive universal credit.
Currently their household must earn less than £7,400 a year to qualify. Some school leaders have questioned the fairness of children from high income families receiving free meals at primary while those from lower income families at secondary are not.
The extra 20p being provided per free meal for all younger pupils means Wales provides the highest rate to primary schools and council catering teams in the UK to provide free school meals, the Welsh Government said.
Wales also remains the only UK nation to provide universal primary free school meals to all primary learners.
Education minister Lynne Neagle said: “Universal primary free school meals, alongside our targeted free meal offer in secondary schools, means that two thirds of learners in Wales can access a free school meal at lunchtime every day.
“We understand that costs are rising, and we want to ensure local authorities are supported.
“Ending child poverty remains an absolute priority for the Welsh Government and our commitment to universal primary free school meals show just how serious we are about giving every child the best possible start in life.”
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