5. Will the First Minister set out the Welsh Government's initial priorities for tackling poverty? OAQ53173

Thank you. Llywydd, our immediate priorities focus on those mitigating measures directly available to the Welsh Government that have a practical impact on the lives of children and families experiencing poverty in Wales. 

First Minister, universal credit is too often a cruel and inhumane system in practice that causes misery for families and communities, whether it's the waiting times for initial payment and the loan system that accompanies that, or the lack of ability for direct payment to landlords in terms of housing benefit, or conditionality and sanctioning, which is often draconian. It often leads to debt, homelessness, queues at food banks, and weeks if not months spent without any income at all. Will Welsh Government consider the devolution of the administration of universal credit for a more humane system in Wales?

I thank John Griffiths for that, and of course he points very vividly to the history of universal credit implementation to date. I'm aware, of course, of the work that his committee has done and the reports that have been produced suggesting that we should explore the devolution of administration of benefits here in Wales. I've heard as well, in this Chamber, other Members point quite rightly to the difficulties that might lie in its path, and there is a history, isn't there, that we're all familiar with—for example, in the forced devolution of council tax benefit, where we took on the administration, but the UK Government badly short-changed us in terms of the amount of money required for the benefit itself, and nothing at all to pay for administration. But, having pointed to those warnings, then my view is that we ought to explore the devolution of administration. We want to do it carefully, but I think the case is made for exploration, and I'm happy to give him that assurance this afternoon.

What consideration has the First Minister given to appointing a Minister for poverty who would set clear and measurable targets to address poverty and deprivation in Wales and who would be accountable for the Welsh Government's anti-poverty strategy, please?

Well, accountability for anti-poverty measures in the Welsh Government has been allocated to the Minister for housing, planning and local government, and she will be able to answer questions and be held accountable in the way that the Member suggests.

First Minister, I was interested to hear all the things that you listed happening in and around Ebbw Vale during last week's First Minister's questions. You mentioned the starter units at Lime Avenue in Ebbw Vale, planning consent having been secured for a 50,000 sq ft advanced manufacturing facility at Rhyd-y-Blew in the town, and the refurbished 174,000 sq ft derelict building at Rassau in Ebbw Vale for the private sector. Your economy Minister has previously said that £100 million will be allocated to the Tech Valleys in the area over the next 10 years, with the aim of creating 1,500 jobs.

Now, what I, and probably many other Assembly Members representing communities in the former coalfield area, would like to know, is: what about my constituency? The Rhondda is in a similar position to Blaenau Gwent in terms of unemployment statistics and deprivation levels, yet we have been largely ignored by successive Governments, and that's a fact that is confirmed by the Valleys delivery plan. So, what are your plans to make sure that employment opportunities and income generation are spread equitably, and when can we expect to hear an announcement about investment in job creation for the Rhondda?

I thank the Member for that question, which no doubt does have a relevance to tackling poverty in the way that she put it. Thank you for—[Interruption.] I thank her for the careful attention she paid to what was said in questions last week, and she will have noticed that further announcements have been made this week of investments in Ebbw Vale. It's not a competition, Llywydd, is it, and I know the Member didn't suggest that it was. Of course there are things that we want to do in other parts of Wales. That's why the Valleys taskforce was set up, to take that pan-Valleys look at the different things that we can do in different parts of Wales, and the Rhondda and the needs of that community are certainly not forgotten in those considerations.