Part of First Minister’s Question Time – in the Scottish Parliament am 5:08 pm ar 31 Hydref 2024.
It is very disappointing to hear that about this year.
I will now ask the First Minister about next year. One of the proudest moments for the Scottish Greens during our time in government was the rolling out of free school meals for all children in primary 4 and 5, because we know that that is a simple and effective way to address the impact of child poverty and to ensure that every child has the best chance at school.
We were on course to expand that to every child in primary school by the end of this session of Parliament, until the Scottish Government put an indefinite delay on that roll-out as part of this year’s programme for government. Given the predicted £3.4 billion that is due to be added to next year’s Scottish budget, will the First Minister reinstate the promise to deliver free school meals for primary 6 and 7 pupils by 2026, as endorsed by the Parliament a few weeks ago?