All primary school kids in Wales to get free school meals

All primary school children in Wales will be given free school meals, the Welsh government has announced.

The agreement - which has been struck by the two biggest political parties in Wales, Labour and Plaid Cymru - will see all four to 11 year olds get access to free school meals within the next three years.

First Minister of Wales Mark Drakeford said it was "ambitious" and Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price called it "historic".

More than 87,000 pupils in Wales aged five to 15 currently have free school meals. This will now be expanded to include all children aged four to 11.

The Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru said that the policy to extend free school meals to all primary school pupils will be "over the lifetime of this agreement, a further step to reaching our shared ambition that no child should go hungry."

The Children's Commissioner for Wales, Sally Holland, has welcomes the plan "with open arms".

Adding that free school meals for all will bring health benefits by making sure children have a healthy meal every day: "Preparing children for life and helping them think about and try lots of different foods, I think that can have lifelong health benefits."

What are free school meals?

All pupils at primary schools in Wales will get free school meals in three years, say Labour and Plaid Cymru

Free school meals are available to young children and slightly older children during term time in schools whose families are on low incomes or who receive income support from the government.

The number of children receiving free school meals in Wales is at its highest level since records began in 2003.

Demand for free school meals rose significantly during the coronavirus pandemic, with government figures showing nearly 302,400 more kids qualified for free food between March 2020 and 2021.

More than 2.5 million emergency food parcels were given out to families in the UK by The Trussell Trust last year, with almost a million of those going to children. That's an increase of almost 1.5 million since 2016.

In England, more than 1.6 million children - or 20 percent of state school pupils - now receive free school meals.

In Scotland, more than 146,200 primary school aged children are eligible for free school meals.

In Northern Ireland 28 percent of primary school aged children can get a free school meal.