9. Plaid Cymru debate: Child poverty

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 6:11 pm on 16 May 2018.

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Photo of Bethan Sayed Bethan Sayed Plaid Cymru 6:11, 16 May 2018

Diolch. Thank you to everybody who has contributed here today. I'd just like to start on the point that was made with regard to the devolution of administration of welfare and the points that were made in interventions by Rebecca Evans and Huw Irranca-Davies. I don't understand the rationale, because it seems to suggest—. We're in the situation where these welfare reform cuts will be going ahead anyway and, surely, if we recognise the fact that we don't have control over what happens in the rest of the UK, then we'd want to have control over the proportion of welfare that we could possibly have influence over. In fact, we recognise that on the equalities committee. We recognise the fact that, when we had evidence from those who came down from Scotland to give evidence, you could change the nature of the debate by having those powers within your grasp. Please read that evidence—we're all about telling each other to read specific documents in this Chamber—please read that evidence to show how we can do things differently, because, no, of course we don't want those welfare reforms to happen, but they are going to happen, and surely you would want to have those powers here in Wales as opposed to them being delivered upon us by those who are not in touch, who are not able to understand the lives of the people of Wales.