2. Will the Minister make a statement on how the Welsh Government is tackling child poverty in Torfaen? OAQ(5)0091(CC)

I thank the Member for her question. We are supporting parents into employment through Communities for Work, investing in the early years and building resilient communities that can offer children the best start in life.

The Communities First programme is playing a crucial role in Torfaen in tackling poverty. The programme has been very successful and was ranked No. 1 in Wales for helping people into employment, and No. 1 for adults completing employment-related courses. This is in addition to the vital role Communities First plays in mitigating the impact of welfare reforms. In the event of the Cabinet Secretary going ahead with the phasing out of Communities First, what steps will you take to ensure that the very best elements of the programme are retained and, most importantly, properly resourced?

The Member is right to raise the issue of Communities First, as many others do in this Chamber. I have said often that there are many good programmes within the Communities First clusters, but the reality is, as we discussed yesterday in the debate around child poverty, the very stubborn effects of poverty are very hard to move into a different space. We have to take a very new approach to the way that we manage and support resilient communities. I’m grateful for the Member’s comments. I haven’t made a decision yet on Communities First, but I will keep her and other colleagues posted as I make those deliberations in the early new year.

Cabinet Secretary, I have no doubt that you’re doing a wonderful job on various things to reduce poverty. You have taken a lot of—[Interruption.] Wait a minute. You have taken a lot of—. [Interruption.] You have taken a lot of, your Government has taken a lot of, initiatives to reduce poverty among children—yes, we had Communities First, Flying Start, Families First, et cetera, et cetera. But the fact is—[Interruption.] The fact is we are still, sadly—our children in Torfaen, Islwyn and Blaenau Gwent are the worst-off children living in the countries of the United Kingdom. I would like to ask you what other initiatives you’re taking. I think our Government is raising the personal allowance up to £12,500, which will benefit a lot of families—[Interruption.]—a number of families, 1.5 million, to reduce in-work poverty, which is one of the aims of the child poverty strategy by the British Government. So, which initiative are you going to take to reduce child poverty in Wales, please?

I thank the Member for his comments at the start of his question; we’re very grateful for them. It’s not for me to give the Member a history lesson, but I will remind him that poverty just doesn’t happen by chance—there are often causes to this. Back in the 1980s, when his party was in power in the UK, they destroyed our communities in Wales with the coal mines and the steelworkers, which had a massive effect on our young people and their lives ahead of them.

I can say what are our programmes, and the Member recognises them—Families First, Flying Start and the whole support mechanisms around the family are important ones. But you should not take anything back from the fact that your welfare-reform aspects have a massive impact on the people of Wales and the UK. You, as a party, should think about that very, very carefully.

Cabinet Secretary, UKIP concurs with the Welsh Government’s decision to review or end the Communities First programme. This was a Government flagship strategy designed to eradicate deprivation in Wales. Whilst there are some examples of success, there are also glaring examples of mismanagement. For instance, the 3Gs Development Trust programme in Merthyr spent £1.3 million on staff salaries out of a budget of £1.5 million. Would the Cabinet Secretary confirm that the people of Penydarren, Galon Uchaf and Gurnos were let down by this organisation?

Look, I won’t knock Communities First’s workforce—they are doing a fantastic job across communities—but this is an extremely difficult nut to crack. Poverty is not moving in the right direction. That’s why we have to have an overarching rethink here. Huw Lewis and Dawn Boden, now, are doing a fantastic job in their communities, representing their communities with Communities First workforces. I will make a decision in the new year about what the future looks like, but what we’ve got to remember about this is it’s about the people on the ground.