High Court rules Wales free school meals decision unlawful

Two families who had been impacted by the decision argued the Welsh Government failed to consider the rights of children and possible impacts on different groups when they pulled the support on June 28, 2023, less than a month before the end of term.

The case concluded without a hearing in court as ministers conceded they had breached equality and discrimination standards.

The latest data from Stats Wales shows more than 19,000 school pupils in South East Wales are eligible for free school meals, up more than a thousand from ten years prior.

Matthew Court, one of the Public Law Project solicitors who represented the families, said people were “badly affected” by both the decision and decried “how poorly it was communicated”.

“We hope that the outcome of this challenge encourages all public authorities in Wales to focus more on preventing harm, especially to people who face an uphill struggle to provide for their families in difficult circumstances,” he said.

The government made a decision in October not to reinstate the scheme, citing a lack of funds.

'Almost zero notice'

The High Court said ministers had breached the Equality Act 2010 and Rights of the Children and Young Persons (Wales) Measure 2011.

The measure, which was introduced by Welsh Labour in the then-Assembly, obliged ministers to consider children’s rights as set out by the United Nations when developing or reviewing policy.

It is the first time the Welsh Government has been found to be in breach of the measure.

READ MORE: Free school meals to continue in these areas of Gwent over the summer holidays

The Equality Act, introduced by the last UK Labour government, said public bodies must consider the need to eliminate discrimination and “advance equality of opportunity”.

Welsh ministers have admitted their failure in both of these regards when they withdrew the funding for free school meals.

Education minister Jeremy Miles says further equality assessments should have been done (Image: File)

Mark, one of the parents represented by PLP, said he was “glad the Welsh Government has acknowledged that they acted unlawfully”.

“Being unable to work, I am incredibly grateful for the benefits I receive, but prices go up and up and the money just hasn’t been enough for my family.

READ MORE: Parents told free school meals during holidays to end with immediate effect

“Cuts like the one they made to free school meals over the school holidays affect the poor so much more, especially when they give you almost zero notice – people in my situation just don’t have access to ready money to cover things.

“I hope the Government has learned a lesson. If they’re making changes like this, they need to think them through before-hand and give people enough notice to adjust.

“I fully respect that public bodies need to find money to pay doctors and nurses, but stopping the holiday free school meal payments altogether doesn’t have to be the way.

“I really hope the Welsh Government can come back to this afresh and look hard to see if there is any way of supporting families like mine who were badly affected by the decision.”

Education minister Jeremy Miles, who is hoping to succeed Mark Drakeford as first minister later this month, said the government accepted further equality assessment should have been completed.

"Free school meals support into the school holidays was introduced during the pandemic and we were clear at the time that it was a time-limited crisis intervention," he said. "The support ran from early in the pandemic until May 2023."