The Welsh Government has launched a ten-week consultation on whether to establish a replacement Welsh school milk scheme or discontinue the existing provision from April 2027.
The current scheme provides free milk for Reception to Year 2 pupils and subsidised milk for Years 3–6. The Rural Payments Agency will stop administering it for Wales after 31 March 2027.
Milk will remain available through primary school breakfast clubs and universal free school meals, irrespective of the consultation’s outcome.
Why it matters: The decision could affect children’s nutrition, school budgets and Welsh dairy producers. It is a consultation, not a decision to abolish free school milk.
