2. What measures will the Minister promote across the Welsh Government to alleviate child poverty in Ogmore? OQ55854

Our income maximisation plan outlines new cross-Government measures to alleviate child poverty in Ogmore and across the rest of Wales. These will ensure practical steps are taken to help families maximise their income, reduce essential living costs and support financial resilience. It will be undertaken alongside existing child poverty programmes.

I thank the Minister for that response. And right at the top of Welsh Government's child poverty income maximisation plan, objective 1 seeks to ensure that families in Wales are supported to claim all the financial help they're entitled to. Now, this is vital, because a pound not claimed is a pound poorer that family is, and it's a pound less coming back into that family and that community in Wales. And frankly, it's a pound that the UK Treasury holds back. So, can I ask the Minister what can she do to promote benefits take-up this side of Christmas for families and children in Wales and Ogmore who need that support? And how will she further develop this in the new year? And is there any chance that the UK Government might help with a UK-wide benefits take-up campaign?

May I thank the Member for his question? Ensuring that families in Wales are aware and, importantly, are able to access the support they're entitled to rightly features prominently in our income maximisation plan, published just this month. We did put a range of actions into practice in the short term. We've put into practice a communications and awareness strategy to make sure people and communities are up to date with information, support and also, importantly, the opportunities that are available there for them. We're doing that via social media, existing programmes and networks, and of course we'll be sure we share that information with the Member, and Members across the Chamber, so you're able to amplify and share that message in your constituencies and communities as well.FootnoteLink

We're also working with partners to streamline the application process for Welsh Government and local authority-administered benefits, making them much more accessible for eligible households, at the same time as developing a no-wrong-door approach, so to speak, for a more integrated system of support, so limiting the number of contacts families and individuals have to make and the number of times they have to keep telling their story in order to access the support to which they are entitled.

In response to the Member's final point, the question the Member makes, with regards to the UK Government taking forward and running a take-up strategy for social security and benefits, I agree with him. Should the UK Government do more? Yes. Would that be the right thing to do? Absolutely; it would support communities and people right across the UK. Will they do that? Well, I can say that, just this week, I have joined forces with my counterparts in the Scottish and Northern Ireland devolved administrations to call on the UK Government to do just that, in order to—. Because we know that the impact this pandemic is having is really exacerbating the impact that people are finding on their finances. And now, more than ever, that UK-wide campaign to make people aware of what they're entitled to, and more importantly enable them to access it, is needed more than ever.

Information further to Plenary

Can I advise Members that the year 6 pupils of St Helen's Primary School in Swansea are watching us? So I hope we're all on our best behaviour. Deputy Minister, parents being in secure and sustainable employment is a hugely important factor in alleviating child poverty. I wonder if you can tell us how you're working with Cabinet colleagues to help match adult learners with work-based learning opportunities, in order to improve their employment prospects and support their families. Thank you.

Can I thank the Member for her question, and send my best wishes to the year 6 students, and hope they enjoy their experience watching the Senedd in practice today? And hopefully, in the not-too-distant future, they'll actually be able to come and sit in the gallery and watch in person as well.

Let me tell the Member, in answering her question, clearly we're working across Government to not just make sure that families and communities are aware of the support that's available in terms of welfare and social security, but in accessing those opportunities through things such as the Communities for Work programme and Communities for Work Plus, but also actually with the work we're doing across Government in terms of embedding fair work in communities, right across Wales. And in the not-too-distant future, we'll be looking to actually make sure people are aware of those rights and responsibilities, in terms of accessing work and how they can access further training opportunities, not just for individuals but for employers as well.