Wales should keep free school meals in Christmas holidays, says mum

A mum has called for free school meals to continue during the Christmas holidays.

Mum-of-two Lisa, 38, from Fochriw in Caerphilly county, said free school meals had helped her and other families who are "worse off than me".

The Royal College of Paediatricians and Child Health (RCPCH) said it was an "own goal" for the Welsh government to stop funding the scheme.

The Welsh government said the decision was due to "financial pressure".

Lisa, whose daughters are 12 and 15, said she had recently received a letter saying the meals would stop over Christmas.

"They used to give such a range, you'd get fresh salad, frozen food, a bit of everything, fresh fruit - everything was there," she said.

"A lot of families are going to find it hard without that to help. There are kids out there that are probably only having that one meal a day.

"I'm a single parent with two children, I do struggle sometimes and it was a big help to me but then you've got other families that are worse off than me."

Dr Nick Wilkinson said the RCPCH was seeing more children with conditions linked to a lack of adequate food. 

Paediatricians had noticed an increase in type 2 diabetes and tooth extractions, said Dr Wilkinson.

"We're seeing more young people who are both underweight and overweight," he told BBC Wales Live.

"The reason for being overweight is that when you're hungry, then you go to perhaps the wrong food choices.

"We see families making difficult food choices. We see the effects on their mental health.

"There are also decisions as well around reaching for vapes, for smoking, which act as appetite suppressers as well."

Natasha, 35, has two toddlers who are not in school yet but recently set up a playgroup in Fochriw which meets once a week.

It offers free meals and has seen lots of parents coming for company and the food.

"To some families, it's absolute gold dust. The majority of people are struggling these days," she said.

"The food parcels that were previously given and are now going to stop, people actually use them, they don't waste them.

"This area is quite forgotten about, so I do think those parcels that go to those families are very much appreciated."

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the Welsh government became the first in the UK to extend free school meal provision into the holidays. 

However, it cut the funding off in June this year, saying it had no money and the holiday scheme had been time-limited.

During the summer, some councils in Wales opted to fund the scheme themselves, but three of those that did, Caerphilly, Gwynedd and Powys, told Wales Live they would not be able to do it again. 

Mark Pritchard, the independent leader of Wrexham council, also confirmed his authority could not afford to pay for free school meals over Christmas.

Councils in Wales are expected to face a funding shortfall of hundreds of millions over the next two years.

Dr Wilkinson said paediatricians were "very concerned" about the long-term consequences the cuts could have on the "most vulnerable in society".

"We have so many young people disengaging from education. We know the importance of food on educational attainment and educational engagement, it just seems like an own goal to withdraw food at such a key time," he said.

Anthony Hunt, leader of Torfaen council, said funding free school meals over the summer cost them £250,000 and it "can't go on forever".

He said the pressures that Welsh councils were facing was having an impact on what they can do.

"Given the huge pressures elsewhere in the system I don't want to promise to do something I can't then deliver and then have to take money out of core services like schools, like social care,'' he said. 

"There is an £820m pressure on Welsh councils going into the next financial year.

"Funding those basic public services that people rely on and that people value is becoming increasingly difficult."

In recent budget announced by Welsh government, education and Welsh language budget had the largest cut of £74.7m.

That includes £11.5m from the free school meals budget, although officials said there would still be enough cash to continue its plans to roll out meals to more children. 

Sioned Williams, Plaid Cymru's spokesperson for social justice, called for funding for free school meals over the Christmas period, and said it would cost £6m over two weeks. 

Welsh Conservative shadow education minister Laura Anne Jones accused the Welsh government of "letting vulnerable families down".

"They cannot pat themselves on the back for delivering free school meals, when it is clear there are fundamental flaws, especially over the extended holiday periods," she said.

The Welsh government said: "Holiday provision was a time-limited intervention introduced during the pandemic.

"Unfortunately, due to the significant financial pressures facing the Welsh budget, it is not possible to reinstate the provision of free school meals."