WELSH Conservatives today demanded that the Assembly Government review the value for money of its free school breakfast scheme after it emerged they are spending more than £8mn on the initiative.
Figures obtained by the party reveal that the cost of operating the scheme last year was £8.3mn. It is thought this will rise even higher in 2010.
The news comes after it emerged average spend per pupil in Wales is £527 less than in England. Education Minister Leighton Andrews has also pledged to hold a review of education spending to "make sure we make the best use of the resources available to us".
Shadow Education Minister Paul Davies AM said:
"In such a difficult financial climate this is money which could have been used elsewhere within the education system rather than subsidising something that should be the responsibility of parents.
"We, of course, want to see children receive a healthy, balanced diet. But the growing expense of this scheme is something the Education Minister's much-publicised spending review should take a long, hard look at.
"Ministers should ask themselves: 'Is this something we can now afford'? They should be investing in education, not toast and cornflakes.
"The task of government should be to encourage children to eat more healthily through education and encouragement as part of a balanced, properly funded curriculum."
