Child Poverty

Part of 4. Questions to the Minister for Housing and Local Government – in the Senedd at 2:05 pm on 24 June 2020.

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Photo of Julie James Julie James Labour 2:05, 24 June 2020

Yes, Rhianon, you very accurately represent the real scourge of poverty in a young person's life, and, well before this crisis, in the months leading up, in fact, to the crisis—although we didn't know they were leading up to the crisis at the time—I commissioned a review to explore what more Welsh Government could do to reduce costs and boost incomes for families across Wales. The review also looked at investment in programmes and services that contribute to tackling poverty for children and young people, to ensure that, as far as possible, they were improving the outcomes for people who find themselves in poverty. The impact of the coronavirus pandemic on levels of poverty, including child poverty, in the short to medium term, is unfortunately likely to be substantial. It's against that backdrop and alongside recovery plans that recommendations following the review have been identified and subsequently discussed by Cabinet. Details of the agreed actions, along with the key findings of the review, will be published before the end of July.

Local authorities from across Wales have contributed valuable evidence to that review via a range of engagement activities, and they're obviously a key partner as we start to implement the recommendations. These include practical steps we can take to maximise income and reduce essential living costs for families living in poverty across Wales.