The money for free school meals during the holidays was provided as part of an £11m package across Wales handed out by the Welsh Government. So the money provided to WCBC for this is for this purpose only and can’t be spent on anything else.
The issue of the lack of spend on roads, lighting and drains has been going on for years and of much discussion on the forums. I suspect a lot of it is to do with the continued austerity for Councils across the UK as we always hit a funding shortfall every year and cuts are rife. I expect this will be one of the worst years in recent history as Council Tax receipts will be down significantly as people are unable to work and therefore their ability to pay.