Dirprwy Lywydd, many of us have seen the report of Professor Philip Alston, the UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, that was issued last month. The report found that employment has not proven to be an automatic route out of poverty in Wales and that in-work poverty has grown over the last decade. Twenty-five per cent of jobs paid below the living wage, and low-paid, part-time or insecure jobs are often disproportionately taken up by women, largely due to difficulties in balancing work and caring responsibilities.

Professor Alston found that the Welsh Government's approach and new 'Prosperity for All' strategy lacks strategic focus on, and individual ministerial responsibility for, poverty reduction. There's a lack of clear performance targets and indicators that would measure progress and impact. The report also found a wide consensus amongst stakeholders that the UK Government benefit changes are one of the structural causes behind the increase in poverty, with the implementation of universal credit exacerbating the issues. The pernicious impact of austerity continues to blight lives in so many communities. In Wales, attempts to tackle the stubbornly high levels of poverty are hampered by the fact that a number of key policy levers sit at Westminster.

It is frustrating that Welsh Government is unable to introduce necessary flexibility into the administration of benefits here, unlike the situation in Scotland, where they have that ability. The Equalities, Local Government and Communities Committee, which I chair, have seen this in our work looking at poverty in Wales and have recommended that the Welsh Government explore the feasibility of their administration of some benefits, which would enable us to take an approach better suited to communities in Wales. We hope to report later this year on our findings.

The latest poverty statistics have shown Wales to be the only UK nation to see a rise in child poverty, with an estimated 29.3 per cent of children living in poverty from 2017 to 2018. The gendered nature of these issues results in women continuing to be paid less than men and often struggling to find roles that allow them to earn a living while also coping with the lion's share of domestic work and childcare.