It's been an interesting debate, but we are 20 years into this century and, since the turn of the millennium, 2020 has been on the horizon, and it's been in most people's minds a beacon and a destination for all sorts of policies and aspirations. And we're here, so it's worth reflecting on what has been achieved, and, perhaps, what is yet to be done.

So, 20 years ago, there were 223,000 workless households in Wales; today, it's 182,000—a decline of nearly 20 per cent. That doesn't make it a good figure; it makes it a better figure. But the big trend in that time has been the rise in in-work poverty, so much so that there are now more children in poverty in working households than in workless ones. And what's the reason for that? The reason is, in the past decade, the Tory UK Government have imposed punitive welfare and tax changes that mean not only does not working not pay, but, often, working isn't paying either. Single working parent households are particularly susceptible to poverty, and now we have a Prime Minister who once argued, and I quote,

'surefire destitution on a Victorian scale' should be imposed on 'young girls' to make them

'think twice about having a baby.'

That from the mouth of a man who can't even say, or refuses to say, how many children he has. But he's got what he wanted, because single parents now do account for nearly a quarter of food bank users, nearly all of whom are considered destitute. Until 2012, the word 'destitution' previously had only appeared in Victorian times. [Interruption.] You can look up the quote; I'll send you the link.

So, unfortunately, the reality is that Welsh Government will need to continue to mitigate the impact of Tory-fuelled poverty in the coming years. That means carrying on the good work on the things like the social wage, the free childcare—whatever its problems, we won't abandon it—as well as structural policies on skills, education and economic development. And keeping more money in people's pockets will be an essential part of that. We should look to expand on the many policies that support people, and we've heard colleagues here talk today about ideas and policies that do support people; that do help them keep the money in their pockets.

What I particularly wanted to pick up today is the importance of strong communities as a buffer against society. Before Christmas, the Trussell Trust charity published its 'State of Hunger' report. Unsurprisingly, it found clear evidence, and I quote, that 

'the extent and timing of five key benefit changes'— and here they are—

'(sanctions, Universal Credit, "bedroom tax", benefit levels, Personal Independent Payment assessments) had sizeable and significant effects' on food bank use. So, what did the Tories do about that? They gave the architect of that, Iain Duncan Smith, a knighthood in the new year's honours. So, they clearly have changed, haven't they? 

Challenging life experiences and ill health were the other reasons for those changes, but so too was lack of informal support, and this is where we can make some changes. As the report explains, the vast majority of people referred to food banks had either exhausted the support from family or friends, had a resource-poor social network, or could not access support due to social isolation. We can certainly step into that gap. So, in terms of giving that support, it will be down to us, because there's one thing for certain in my mind: it is very unlikely that the UK Government—and they're in denial over there—is going to help to change anything. They're not suddenly going to have a change of hearts and minds by a man who I have just quoted. Those words are his words not mine. So, frankly, we would be rather foolish if we thought, in Wales, that the Tories in Westminster, led by a man who thinks that we ought to punish women to deter them from having a baby, are going to be somehow compassionate—I'm going to send you the link—about the future of those same people.