£70 million in funding will support the next stage in the expansion of free school meals in all primary schools in Wales, the Minister for Education has announced.

To date nearly 5 million additional free meals have been served across Wales since September 2022.

The next phase of the expansion to provide free school meals to all pupils in primary school will begin in September 2023, with the offer growing to include the majority of learners in years three and four. The programme will then expand further in April 2024, reaching years five and six. Where local authorities are able to reach these year groups ahead of these milestones they have been funded to do so.

£260m has been committed to implement the programme over three years. This included £60m of capital funding for local authorities invested over the last two years to support improvements to school kitchen facilities, including purchasing equipment and updating digital systems.

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