Saturday, March 07, 2009
Being serious about child poverty
Speaking in Llanelli last night, Labour leadership candidate, Huw Lewis set out the platform on which he will be seeking to replace Rhodri Morgan when the First Minister steps down later this year.
There is nothing new in that but I was interested in one proposal in which Huw suggests setting up a National Children's Savings Fund that will supposedly enable every child in Wales to fulfil their potential. He suggests an initial investment of £50 million into this fund followed by yearly top-ups of £20m until there was enough to generate a sizeable income from interest payments to provide bursaries for children to 'do something creative'.
I am not sure that Huw has thought through all the implications of this fund not least whether it is a good use of public money. For example I would have thought that a substantial investment in early years education and additional support for schools in deprived areas might have a bigger impact.
What is significant however is that Huw has put a figure to the sort of investment that the Assembly Government needs to make to deal with child poverty. This is in direct contrast to the Social Justice Minister who, on Tuesday, introduced an Assembly a Children and Families Measure on this precise subject without a single penny of extra expenditure to back it up.
As Kirsty Williams said in her forensic demolition of the measure: "We have new powers in the Assembly and I wish that we would use them to deliver a real difference rather than dressing old things up in new clothes. In reality, that is what this propsoed Measure does."
Perhaps if Huw does become First Minister we will at least have the government putting its money where its mouth is on child poverty.
There is nothing new in that but I was interested in one proposal in which Huw suggests setting up a National Children's Savings Fund that will supposedly enable every child in Wales to fulfil their potential. He suggests an initial investment of £50 million into this fund followed by yearly top-ups of £20m until there was enough to generate a sizeable income from interest payments to provide bursaries for children to 'do something creative'.
I am not sure that Huw has thought through all the implications of this fund not least whether it is a good use of public money. For example I would have thought that a substantial investment in early years education and additional support for schools in deprived areas might have a bigger impact.
What is significant however is that Huw has put a figure to the sort of investment that the Assembly Government needs to make to deal with child poverty. This is in direct contrast to the Social Justice Minister who, on Tuesday, introduced an Assembly a Children and Families Measure on this precise subject without a single penny of extra expenditure to back it up.
As Kirsty Williams said in her forensic demolition of the measure: "We have new powers in the Assembly and I wish that we would use them to deliver a real difference rather than dressing old things up in new clothes. In reality, that is what this propsoed Measure does."
Perhaps if Huw does become First Minister we will at least have the government putting its money where its mouth is on child poverty.
Comments:
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We have new powers in the Assembly and I wish that we would use them to deliver a real difference rather than dressing old things up in new clothes. In reality, that is what this propsoed Measure does.
Empty rhetoric from Kirsty. forensic demolition? no alternative proposals, no ideas, no values just a soundbite!
Empty rhetoric from Kirsty. forensic demolition? no alternative proposals, no ideas, no values just a soundbite!
# posted by 
: 11:26 AM
: 11:26 AM
Actually if you read it properly there were no soundbites there but effective scrutiny of a government measure. She was making the point that welcome as some of the proposals are they are no good unless they are funded. In the context of the statement that was a constructive response. It was also not the place to put forward alternatives. That comes in the committee stages of the measure and the final reading.
Whatever the merits or otherwise of huw lewis's proposal at least he actually appears to be talking about spending money to tackle child poverty in wales. As it is certainly true that poverty cannot be tackled without governments spending money.
All the buzzword 'anti-poverty strategies' in the world will make no difference to levels of poverty in our society unless we are willing to spend significant amounts to tackle it!
Johnson's 'war on poverty' almost halved poverty in the US in a decade! The numbers of those living in poverty in the US declining from from 17 and a half percent in 1964 to under 10 percent by 1973!
Leigh,
swansea.
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All the buzzword 'anti-poverty strategies' in the world will make no difference to levels of poverty in our society unless we are willing to spend significant amounts to tackle it!
Johnson's 'war on poverty' almost halved poverty in the US in a decade! The numbers of those living in poverty in the US declining from from 17 and a half percent in 1964 to under 10 percent by 1973!
Leigh,
swansea.
# posted by : 7:03 PM
: 7:03 PM<< Home
