Gwynedd Council take urgent action to ensure children have food over summer holidays

CONCERNS that children from impoverished families in Gwynedd would lose out on free meals over the summer holidays has prompted urgent action from a Welsh council.

The families of Gwynedd schoolchildren eligible for school lunches on the basis of low-income will now receive payments towards meals over the school break.

Parents or guardians of around 2,700 primary and secondary school pupils in the county who qualify for the benefit, will receive £3.90 a day from July 21 to August 31, 2023.

It follows a decision by Cyngor Gwynedd’s Cabinet to approve an “urgent recommendation” to fund the costs.

The scheme, which is anticipated to cost around £316,000, was approved in a decision by the Cabinet today, Thursday, July 20.

Approval to fund the scheme was sought after the Welsh Government had decided not to extend its scheme to provide free school meals for the 2023 summer break.

The national initiative had first been launched by the Welsh Government amid concerns for families during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Presenting the report, Councillor Beca Brown, Cyngor Gwynedd’s Cabinet Member for Education, said it had been “disappointing” to learn “late in the day” that the plug was being pulled on the scheme.

“Families across Gwynedd continue to feel the pressures of the cost-of-living crisis and we know that the children will be the ones suffering the most,” she said.

“The summer holidays should be a time for families to relax and have fun together, not spent worrying about how they will find the money to pay for everyday necessities.

“With this in mind, it was disappointing to learn so late in the day about the Government’s decision to end the national arrangement to provide free school meals over holidays for low-income families across Wales.

“As a Council, we were extremely concerned that it would be extremely difficult for vulnerable families to change their budget priorities for the summer at such short notice.

“Since receiving formal confirmation of this policy change from the Government on 28 June, we have been weighing up the measures we can put in place to support families here in Gwynedd and to help them bridge the gap.

“Now that the Council’s Cabinet have supported the recommendation, I would urge all families who are eligible for this additional support to make sure that they apply for the funding via the Council website or by contacting our Education Department on 01286 685 047.”

Councillor Dyfrig Siencyn, Cyngor Gwynedd Leader, added: “I am delighted that we have been able to put this urgent measure in place, which will support the county’s most vulnerable families.

“This is of course just one measure among the wide range of schemes that Cyngor Gwynedd already has in place to help local families to cope with the effects of the cost-of-living crisis.

“These include support to claim benefits; help for people struggling to afford food including for example a mobile food shop and food pantries; and support so that people can better manage their domestic energy bills.

“I would encourage anyone struggling to make ends meet to take look at our website for details of the range of support and information available”

Since the national scheme to provide free school meals during the holidays was introduced in April 2020, Cyngor Gwynedd has administered around £3.32m of payments to disadvantaged families within the county.

For more details see: www.gwynedd.llyw.cymru/CostOfLiving”