London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, May 09, 2025

Free school meals: Rising food prices 'harming Wales plan'

Free school meals: Rising food prices 'harming Wales plan'

School caterers say the increasing cost of food means they are struggling to deliver the Welsh government's plan for universal free school meals.

School food expert Prof Kevin Morgan said it needs to look at increasing the price per meal given to local councils.

Education Minister Jeremy Miles said it is looking at the unit price.

It was set with "an assumption about possible increases in costs", he added, saying: "The world has obviously moved on and we are doing a review."

At the moment, Welsh councils get about £2.90 per child per meal for primary school meals.

This price was set before the new universal school meals policy was started last September.

Prof Morgan told the BBC's Wales Live "that £2.90 is no longer a viable rate in my view".

"That obviously needs to be looked at again," he added.

He said it was important that the food available for children was attractive and high quality to reduce waste.

Universal free school meals will be rolled out in phases to primary school pupils across Wales


Brad Pearce, the national chairman of the Local Authority Caterers Association, painted a difficult picture for school caterers across Wales.

He said members had seen increases of 20% on the price of things such as milk, cheese, meat, fruit and vegetables.

"Cumulatively we'll have seen increases between 50 and 70% since May last year," he added.


'Local, fresh produce'


Mr Pearce said the funding per meal needed to rise with inflation to enable caterers to buy good quality produce.

He said: "We need those to be reviewed and addressed... to take into account the increase in food costs so we can buy the local, fresh produce to produce the best quality meals."

According to the Office for National Statistics, food inflation has increased by nearly 5% since September.

Universal free school meals are being rolled out in phases to all primary school pupils in Wales, as part of a co-operation agreement between the Labour Welsh government and Plaid Cymru.

"It needed to be a whole school approach, with the additional workload that it's brought," says head teacher Gayle Major


By April, every child in reception, Year One and Year Two was supposed to have been offered a free school meal.

Most schools in Wales have reached that target, but not all.

Despite this, the education minister said he was confident the target of offering all primary school pupils a school meal would be reached by April 2024.


'Incredible achievement'


"The effort which has gone into delivering this policy amongst local authorities right across Wales has been mammoth," said Mr Miles.

"By next year every child in a primary school in Wales will be offered a nutritious hot meal which is an incredible achievement."

At Blaenhonddan Primary School in Bryncoch, Neath Port Talbot, staff said the rollout had been hard work but a success.

Head teacher Gayle Major said parents were "absolutely delighted" with the new policy but there were "significant challenges" to get it started.

"It needed to be a whole school approach, with the additional workload that it's brought to the school, the willingness of the staff within the kitchen and within my own staff to take on the extra responsibility has enabled it to be a success," she said.

"The school has taken on two extra permanent members of staff to cope with the increase in demand."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Historic Papal Conclave Set to Commence in Rome
Huge Copper, Gold, and Silver Discovery in Argentina and Chile — But the Profits Go Abroad
Prince Harry is pleading for reconciliation — but the royals are just as sick of his victimhood as everyone else
The Road to Freedom: She Protested Putin, Escaped House Arrest, and Survived a 2,800-Kilometer Journey
OpenAI's Flip-Flop: No Longer Going Commercial, Back to Nonprofit, After Musk Lawsuit and Backlash
“Trump Supporter” Aims to Bring a MAGA-Style Shift to Romania
First From China: Zhao Xintong Wins the Snooker World Championship
Nvidia Faces Billion-Dollar Losses – Warns: China Is on Its Way to Becoming an AI Superpower
Trump Rules Out Third Term, Names JD Vance and Marco Rubio as Potential Successors
Mexico Says ‘No’ to U.S. Troops: President Sheinbaum Rejects Trump’s Offer to Fight Cartels
Nigel Farage’s Reform UK Storms the Map, Wrecking the Two-Party Monopoly
DOGE: Reimagining Government Operations with AI
Common Sense Returns to Britain's Legal System: UK Supreme Court Declares a Woman Is… a Woman
Beijing Says U.S. Is ‘Reaching Out’ for Tariff Talks Amid Soaring Trade Tensions
U.K. Court Rejects Prince Harry’s Final Appeal Over Police Security
Prince Harry’s Heartfelt Outburst Rocks the Royal Family
Trump Shares AI-Generated Image of Himself as… Pope, Prompting Outrage Reaction
Transgender Swimmer Secures Five Gold Medals at U.S. Masters Championship
Prince Harry: “I Want Reconciliation with My Family”
Germany's Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party has now been officially labeled “right-wing extremist” by the federal office for the so-called “protection of the constitution.”
Amazon Launches Satellite Internet Service Amidst Competition with SpaceX
Transformative Changes in Women's Wrestling: The Rise of WWE Superstars
The Rush to the White Gold: Global Investment Surge in Natural Hydrogen Exploration
This is a day in Spain without electricity and internet
Reform UK Surprises in British Elections, Challenging Traditional Two-Party System
180-Year-Old Christian University in South Carolina Announces Closure Due to Unmet $6 Million Fundraising Goal
Brazilian Woman Jailed for Fourteen Years for Writing “You Lost, Idiot” on Statue During Protest
Trump Administration Removes National Security Adviser Mike Waltz Amid Signal Chat Controversy
Dutch Politician Eva Vlaardingerbroek Receives Spyware Threat Alert from Apple
Paramount Board Considers Settlement in Trump’s $20 Billion Lawsuit Over "60 Minutes" Interview
U.S. Economy Shrink in Trump’s First Quarter as Tariff Policy Raises Questions
Deadline Looms for RTS Meter Replacement: Hundreds of Thousands at Risk of Heating Disruption
Sweden Grapples with Deadly Gun Violence: Suspect Arrested After Three Young Men Killed in Uppsala Hair Salon
Walz Reveals Why Harris Chose Him as Her Running Mate and Reflects on Democratic Losses
Spain Restores Power After Unprecedented Nationwide Blackout
Carney Secures Liberal Mandate in Canada’s Federal Election
Death Penalty Sought as Luigi Manion Pleads Not Guilty in CEO Murder Case
President Trump contacts Jeff Bezos after reports of Amazon considering listing tariff surcharges; company clarifies no such plan for main platform
Spain and Portugal Recover from Massive Blackout
Liverpool Clinches Record-Equalling 20th English League Title Under Arne Slot
Singapore Politicians Warn Against Foreign Interference in Election
Driver Ploughs into Vancouver Festival Crowd, Killing Nine
Depression, Fear of Defamation, and a Tragic End: New Details on Virginia Giuffre’s Suicide
“Sharia for UK, Allah Akbar!”
Massive Explosion at Iran's Bandar Abbas Port Linked to Suspicious Chemical Shipments
Incident Reflection: A Harsh Reality Check
Pakistani migrants to Danish man: “ “We have 5 children while you have 1 or 2. In 10 years, there will be more Pakistanis than Danes here.“
Clashes Erupt in London as Tensions Rise Between Indian and Pakistani Communities
Specialized anti-drone weapons deployed among security personnel Ahead of Papal Funeral
How do you fix this culture?
×