Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:12 pm on 22 May 2018.
Thank you for that, First Minister. Securing the well-being and prosperity of our Valleys towns and communities remains a significant challenge, as shown by a number of health, social and wider welfare indicators, and I was alarmed by the recent report from the Equality and Human Rights Commission that suggested more people would be driven into poverty by UK welfare reforms. That follows closely on the heels of reports by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and the Bevan Foundation, which state that the next wave of welfare reform will push even more people in our Valleys communities into poverty. Now, as my constituency of Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney prepares for the roll-out of universal credit next month, will you join me once again in urging the benches opposite to raise their voices alongside ours to persuade their Government in Westminster to stop this reckless policy of austerity now, before any more damage is wreaked upon the most vulnerable in our society?