8. Plaid Cymru Debate: Low-income Families

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 6:07 pm on 8 January 2020.

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Photo of Joyce Watson Joyce Watson Labour 6:07, 8 January 2020

Thank you for taking an intervention. I just want to ask you: I agree that we need to alleviate child poverty, of course I do, but I'm looking at The Oxford Review of Economic Policy in 2010 and I have to right a statement that you said, that Labour in power—. Between 1996 when we took power and 2010 when we left power, there was a massive decrease in poverty for pensioners, for families with children, and for the children themselves. The question I want to ask is—. That's attributed—and I can send you a link to the article, since you don't seem to know about it— to being because of the increase that we put purposely into the benefits system as opposed to the decrease that has happened. So, we do need to take account of the levers that we have, but recognise at the same time the levers that we don't have and are visited upon us.