Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Social Justice – in the Senedd at 1:30 pm on 7 December 2022.
Thank you, Minister, for that response, and I welcome the range of support that is being provided by Welsh Government, aimed at tackling poverty in our communities. I recognise that tackling poverty is a difficult task, but the recent report from the Auditor General for Wales highlights some important areas that the Government and local authorities can improve upon to help increase the effectiveness of those schemes. For example, the report notes that the councils are reliant upon short-term grant funding, provided by the Welsh Government, which is often administratively complex, whilst there are weaknesses in guidance provided as well as grant restrictions. Meanwhile, only a third of local authorities actually have a lead member and officers for addressing poverty, whilst a mix of approaches taken by councils mean that there is a complicated delivery landscape with differing priorities and a focus according to each area. Finally, the report notes that there are a lack of targets and indicators, both nationally and locally, which make it difficult to assess the impact of existing schemes. Minister, could I ask how you will be responding to the auditor general's report? And can I ask what progress has been made on the child poverty strategy and whether this will feed into a wider national poverty action plan, as has previously been called for? Thank you.