Poverty

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:11 pm on 13 December 2022.

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Photo of Mark Drakeford Mark Drakeford Labour 2:11, 13 December 2022

I thank the Member for that important question. As many Members of the Senedd will know, we created a new Cabinet committee back in September, which has met every week during this autumn, to look at cost-of-living measures. We were joined yesterday by the UK Minister for social mobility, and there was an opportunity there to discuss the need to improve the uptake of pension credit for all the reasons that Natasha Asghar has mentioned. We were able to talk about the actions we are taking as a Government, with our take-up campaigns and our 'make every contact count' campaign over this autumn, and how we can bring the actions we are taking, together with the new publicity that the UK Government is providing around the take-up of pension credit, together, so that we can have the maximum impact here in Wales. Pension credit is such an important benefit, Llywydd, because it's a gateway benefit. It opens the door to so many other things that people can get, and for that reason I agree with what the Member says. Anything we can do, across the Chamber, to improve the take-up of that benefit here in Wales will be time and investment well spent.