Free food box scheme for most vulnerable will not return if shielding is reintroduced in Wales
A food box scheme for those most vulnerable from coronavirus will not return if another shielding period is introduced in Wales.
More than 161,000 free food boxes have been delivered to vulnerable people in Wales since shielding was introduced.
The scheme has been coordinated by local authorities and food boxes have been delivered weekly.
The Welsh Government set aside £15m for the scheme in the spring and each box costs between £31 and £35.
Priority slots for online supermarket shopping will remain in place and the prescription delivery service will continue until the end of September.
Wales' chief medical officer Frank Atherton announced that shielding will be paused from 16 August.
The shielded group, thought to be around 130,000 people in Wales, are those who are classed as extremely vulnerable to coronavirus because they have a specific health condition.
He said: "As long as we continue to see the decline in the viral transmission, our advice on the 16th of August will be to pause that shielding programme."
Plaid Cymru has accused the Welsh Government of “neglecting” shielders.
Shadow Local Government Minister Delyth Jewell MS said the news was “utterly unacceptable."
She said: “This latest development – that food boxes won’t be made available in the event of a second lockdown – will leave many people questioning why the Welsh Government would neglect this group yet again.
“Does the Welsh Government intend to ask local government to provide food boxes instead? If this is the case, they will need to be clear about where the funding will be coming from. Throughout the crisis, Local Government has proved that it’s able to deliver food boxes, using local produces. The Welsh Government must explain why it’s taking this drastic decision now, to the detriment of a group of people that will be in dire need of this support.”
Wales is the last part of the UK to send shielding.
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “Advice from the Chief Medical Officer for Wales is that shielding will pause on August 16, and the contract for the food box scheme for the shielding group will come to an end on that date.
“The food box scheme was introduced to address logistics issues nationwide, and to provide access to essential food supplies when the supply chain was under considerable strain – coverage for online shopping, commercial food boxes and volunteer supported shopping has improved during this time.
“Wales is the last part of the UK to end the shielding scheme and end state-funded food support. Continued support is available for the vulnerable through local authorities and the voluntary sector should people need it. Supermarkets have also reassured us that they will continue to make priority slots available to those who have been advised to shield.”