7. Will the First Minister make a statement on the Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation 2019 results report? OAQ54809

Llywydd, the latest Welsh index of multiple deprivation was published on 27 November. It well illustrates the impact of a decade of enforced austerity on communities across Wales.

There was some positive news for Lansbury Park in the Caerphilly constituency. It is no longer ranked as the most deprived area in Wales, although, as the First Minister recognises, there are still difficulties and it remains in the top 10. I think the improvement has been down to a mixture of investment from the Welsh Government, the European Union and Caerphilly County Borough Council, particularly with regard to the Welsh housing quality standard—£8 million has been spent on new cladding and roofing for council properties, £4.5 million has been spent on new bathrooms and kitchens, and overall £2.5 million in addition with regard to the Welsh housing quality standard.

I think some of the things we've talked about today with regard to education and the improvements the Welsh Government has planned there will make a difference in Lansbury Park—Flying Start makes a difference to that community. What more can the Welsh Government and the First Minister envision will be done for a close-knit community, a wonderful community, like Lansbury Park?

I thank Hefin David for that. It's very important that we analyse the wealth of information that's there in the Welsh index of multiple deprivation, both to understand why there are some communities that remain at what the report describes as the deep-rooted end of deprivation, and why there are other communities who have managed to find a different place in that report, and, Lansbury Park—it's very good to hear that there's been some progress made there. 

Llywydd, when that analysis comes to be done, I think what we will see is that those communities who find themselves at the sharpest end of deprivation in Wales have one key characteristic in common—that they have an over-representation, compared to other parts of Wales, of families with children. And the reason that they end up in the position they are in is because of the cuts in benefits that those families have had to face over the last decade.

A lone parent in Wales will lose £3,720 every year as a result of benefit cuts in Wales. A family with three or more children in Wales will face cuts of £4,110 every year. That's £75 every single week less to manage on to meet the needs of your family and your children. And those communities that find themselves at the sharpest end of the Welsh index of multiple deprivation have more families with children than other communities in Wales. It's no surprise to me that you see that reflected in the tables. 

But, just as we look to understand why there are communities that face those challenges, it's really important that we look to see how other communities have managed to find themselves in a different part of the spectrum. So, Butetown here in Cardiff, where we are today, which back in 2005 was ranked in the top 10 of the most deprived wards in Wales, is today ranked at 150. The Riverside ward in my own constituency, where I live, was ranked eleventh in 2005, and is now one hundred and eighth. So, there are communities—and they're to be found not just here in Cardiff, but in Swansea, in Merthyr, in Aberavon, in Caerphilly, in Rhondda Cynon Taf—that found themselves at the sharpest end, who, today, have moved to a different part of the spectrum. And it's equally important that we try and identify what the conditions have been that have allowed those communities to move in that direction. I think Hefin David, in pointing to the Welsh housing quality standard and some other investments that have been made, has begun to help with that analysis, identifying the factors that create conditions of success, and then helping us to do more of that in the future. 

Question 8 [OAQ54807] is withdrawn, so, finally, question 9. Vikki Howells.