Free school meals will remain in Wales until pandemic over

Wales has guaranteed the ongoing funding for children to continue to receive free school meals until schools re-open or until the end of August.

Education Minister Kirsty Williams confirmed each eligible child will receive the equivalent of £19.50 a week.

With the support of the Welsh Local Government Association, the Welsh Government will make £33m available to help local authorities continue to provide free school meals.

After a month of local authorities providing free school meals to communities across Wales, and following a review into the possibility of adopting a national voucher scheme, the Education Minister said the way forward for Wales was for local authorities to decide what works best for their local communities. 

In the revised guidance issued to local authorities, the Welsh Government outlines three options for providing free school meals that require the least amount of social interaction, they are: the provision of vouchers; the delivery of food items to the families of pupils in receipt of free school meals; or a transfer of funds to the bank accounts of families eligible for free school meals (BACS payments).