The UN special rapporteur's report on the extreme poverty in the United Kingdom is a wake-up call. The true impact of this Tory Government's austerity agenda is clear for all of us to see. It is a political choice that is placing the greatest burden on those least able to bear it, forcing people into poverty. I urge Members from across this Chamber to read carefully the report from the UN. The lived experiences of those in our communities suffering because of so-called welfare reform or unfair working practices need to be listened to.

At the very heart of this chaotic roll-out and impact is universal credit. This callous policy has in-built levers, as has been referenced cross party, to swipe people out of welfare, and it causes much suffering to people across the UK, including many of my constituents in Islwyn. It must be stopped immediately. Even the former work and pensions Secretary, Esther McVey, has admitted that some of the poorest families, as has been said, will be £200 a week worse off. Families already living in abject poverty from the failed PIP assessments, the roll-back of tax credits, the bedroom tax, and single payments to lone parents, as Helen Mary has stated, exacerbating domestic abuse and family violence—a misogynistic policy that I also believe was created with that in mind. Though the Welsh Government will continue to do everything within its power to mitigate these policies, this UN report highlights and states:

'It is outrageous that devolved administrations need to spend resources to shield people from Government policies.'

Faced with these challenges, the special rapporteur says that 

'the Welsh Government has determinedly shifted its focus to increasing economic prosperity and employment as the gateway to poverty reduction.'

He acknowledges that the Welsh Government has adopted a whole-Government approach to poverty reduction. The only way to end this misery, inflicted by the Tories' cruel universal credit, is to elect a Labour Government in Westminster.

There are some in this Chamber who will campaign for the devolution of welfare, as we have heard. But I would warn them that this is a hostage to fortune, given previous instances in which the Welsh Government has been asked to take administrative control of welfare schemes without the accompanying budget. Scotland is £266 million worse off on front-line services as a result of this. Ministers and the people do not have the confidence that the Tory UK Government would transfer a fair budget alongside a transfer of responsibility for administrative control of welfare benefits, and neither do I. Scotland, as I have said, has had to take back that money from front-line services—from those who need it most.

To conclude, Deputy Llywydd, it is not right that in one of the wealthiest economies of the world, children are going hungry. Austerity is indeed a political choice and one that, as this report demonstrates, disproportionately hurts those with protected characteristics—women, children, racial and ethnic minorities, single parents and those with disabilities—and impacts disproportionately on those with vulnerabilities. Though this Welsh Labour Government has done much to lift people out of poverty, this report is a reminder to all of us of the unforgivable effects of the UK Government's cruel policies, with no end in sight. It is time for a general election. It is time for an end to universal credit, and an end also to the appalling behaviour of the Atoses and the Capitas and other conglomerates that have propped it up. Thank you.