8. What measures is the Welsh Government taking to mitigate child poverty? OQ57218

Thank you very much, Buffy Williams. Last week, we announced, as I said, a £51 million support package for low-income households; £38 million will be made available through a winter fuel scheme; £1.1 million to tackle food poverty, including extending the successful Big Bocs Bwyd project; and further announcements, including support with reducing the cost of the school day, will be announced shortly.

Thank you, Minister. The response I've received from families in Rhondda to the £51 million support package has been overwhelming. I know this will make a real difference this winter for children and their families. It's also great to hear funding announced for the extension of the Big Bocs Bwyd.

Ending child poverty in Wales will require partnership working. There are hundreds and hundreds of community groups, projects and charities like mine across Wales that play a vital role in ending child poverty. Many of them work with health boards and local authorities as part of a regional partnership board. Will the Minister review the impact of regional partnership boards on child poverty and explore what steps the Welsh Government can take to strengthen regional partnership boards to help mitigate and, ultimately, end child poverty?

Thank you very much, Buffy Williams, and you know what it's like, don't you, from your constituency and your community and what you've been doing to support people at the sharp end of poverty. We know the key levers for tackling poverty. Powers over tax and welfare systems sit with the UK Government, but we do everything we can to reduce the impact of poverty and support those living in poverty. That's why learning from the End Child Poverty Network Cymru at the meeting I had with them on Monday is so important, and why not only the announcements I've made with the £51 million, but also the council tax reduction scheme, our Warm Homes programme and free prescriptions—these all make a difference in terms of those who are at the sharp end of poverty. And, of course, it's about getting more money into the pockets of our Welsh citizens as part of the fair work agenda. So, partnership is crucial.

The regional partnership boards do bring together the key partners who can look at health and social care needs in their communities and integrate services as well. They're currently looking at their local populations in terms of population needs assessments, and also recognising that they—. In our programme for government, we're setting out attention to support the collaboration for those regional partnership boards, and linking them closely to the local public services boards, because they're responsible for addressing the well-being needs of the local population. So, partnership, but that partnership happens with the third sector, it happens between local government and the health boards, and it happens with those campaigning organisations and those research and policy think tanks, like the Bevan Foundation, who guide us so much in our policy making.

I thank the Minister.