Tuesday, November 07, 2023
Talking the talk on child poverty in Wales
The BBC reports on some scathing criticism by the Senedd's Equality and Social Justice Committee of the Welsh Government's strategy for tackling child poverty.
According to the article, the committee decided that the strategy lacks ambition, and said blaming the UK government does "not help". They are also critical of the decision to scrap targets:
A target to eradicate child poverty in Wales by 2020 was scrapped in 2016.
According to figures quoted by the committee, 28% of children living in Wales lived in homes where the income of their household was less than 70% of the UK average between 2019 and 2022.
While that decreased between 2012 and 2022, rates have been consistently higher than in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The most recent figure is lower than the UK average of 30%, and six of the nine English regions.
The BBC add that the committee's report criticised the strategy's focus on the UK government:
"We fully recognise the strain on Welsh public finances, and that the most significant policy levers for redistributing wealth and reducing inequalities are held by the UK government and Westminster.
"However, the strategy's primary message should be what the Welsh government can do to alleviate child poverty, rather than what it cannot do."
It said there was "deep unease" among bodies which look at the issue "about the lack of targets and milestones".
MSs called for a dedicated minister for children, and called for a commitment from the Welsh government to use cash raised from increased spending in England on childcare to "fund seamless and affordable childcare and to develop plans for doing this by July 2024".
On BBC Radio Wales Breakfast, committee chair Jenny Rathbone said blaming the UK government "clearly... doesn't help".
"What we have to do in Wales is identify the things that we can do," she said.
"As one of our witnesses said, we might as well shut up shop if we say we can't do anything about it."
This is all very well, but what is the solution suggested by the committee and if it is so obvious why are Welsh Ministers not doing it already? Naturally, I went onto the Senedd website to find out for myself. The report is here, and it has six recommendations:
These include the Government setting better targets and a a clear action plan on how they are going to achieve them. There are no suggestions as to what should be in that action plan that will make a difference, nor what it is that Welsh Ministers need to do that they are not already doing.
The committee want the government to focus its final Strategy much more clearly on children’s rights, which is fine, though that doesnt actually put food on the table, nor does it improve people's economic standing.
Their third recommendation is that the Welsh Government should prioritise programmes where there is clear evidence that they are effective at reducing child poverty, and should provide sustainable funding to programmes that have proved their worth. No problem with that. Is there evidence that it is not happening?
Fourthly, the committee wants to establish a Welsh benefits system. Have they found a magic money tree? And does an additional child payment as piloted in Scotland tackle the fundamental structural problems the committee is focussing on?
The fifth recommendation of funding seamless and affordable childcare provision through the Barnett consequentials it will receive from increased childcare spending in England is sensible and will help parents return to work.
However the final proposal of appointing a dedicated Minister for Babies, Children and Young People with responsibility for tackling child poverty is essentially just a sticking plaster, and comes back to the issue of establishing accountability for targets that can only be delivered with more powers and more resources for the Welsh Government.
In conclusion, it seems that the committee is just as lost as Welsh Ministers on how to make a real impact on child poverty in Wales. This is because the Welsh Goverment is fundamentally right, that the best they can do is alleviate the impact of poverty. The real levers lie with Westminister and the UK government needs to get their act together on this agenda.
This does not mean that the Welsh Goverment is blameless. The chief cause of poverty in Wales is lack of economic activity and low GDP. While the Welsh economy struggles to attract investment and good quality jobs then families will continue to struggle to feed and clothe their children.
If Welsh Ministers want to make a real impact on child poverty then they need to do what they have promised for the last 25 years, and have failed to do, and that is get our economy moving again. Why didn't the committee mention that in its report?
According to the article, the committee decided that the strategy lacks ambition, and said blaming the UK government does "not help". They are also critical of the decision to scrap targets:
A target to eradicate child poverty in Wales by 2020 was scrapped in 2016.
According to figures quoted by the committee, 28% of children living in Wales lived in homes where the income of their household was less than 70% of the UK average between 2019 and 2022.
While that decreased between 2012 and 2022, rates have been consistently higher than in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The most recent figure is lower than the UK average of 30%, and six of the nine English regions.
The BBC add that the committee's report criticised the strategy's focus on the UK government:
"We fully recognise the strain on Welsh public finances, and that the most significant policy levers for redistributing wealth and reducing inequalities are held by the UK government and Westminster.
"However, the strategy's primary message should be what the Welsh government can do to alleviate child poverty, rather than what it cannot do."
It said there was "deep unease" among bodies which look at the issue "about the lack of targets and milestones".
MSs called for a dedicated minister for children, and called for a commitment from the Welsh government to use cash raised from increased spending in England on childcare to "fund seamless and affordable childcare and to develop plans for doing this by July 2024".
On BBC Radio Wales Breakfast, committee chair Jenny Rathbone said blaming the UK government "clearly... doesn't help".
"What we have to do in Wales is identify the things that we can do," she said.
"As one of our witnesses said, we might as well shut up shop if we say we can't do anything about it."
This is all very well, but what is the solution suggested by the committee and if it is so obvious why are Welsh Ministers not doing it already? Naturally, I went onto the Senedd website to find out for myself. The report is here, and it has six recommendations:
These include the Government setting better targets and a a clear action plan on how they are going to achieve them. There are no suggestions as to what should be in that action plan that will make a difference, nor what it is that Welsh Ministers need to do that they are not already doing.
The committee want the government to focus its final Strategy much more clearly on children’s rights, which is fine, though that doesnt actually put food on the table, nor does it improve people's economic standing.
Their third recommendation is that the Welsh Government should prioritise programmes where there is clear evidence that they are effective at reducing child poverty, and should provide sustainable funding to programmes that have proved their worth. No problem with that. Is there evidence that it is not happening?
Fourthly, the committee wants to establish a Welsh benefits system. Have they found a magic money tree? And does an additional child payment as piloted in Scotland tackle the fundamental structural problems the committee is focussing on?
The fifth recommendation of funding seamless and affordable childcare provision through the Barnett consequentials it will receive from increased childcare spending in England is sensible and will help parents return to work.
However the final proposal of appointing a dedicated Minister for Babies, Children and Young People with responsibility for tackling child poverty is essentially just a sticking plaster, and comes back to the issue of establishing accountability for targets that can only be delivered with more powers and more resources for the Welsh Government.
In conclusion, it seems that the committee is just as lost as Welsh Ministers on how to make a real impact on child poverty in Wales. This is because the Welsh Goverment is fundamentally right, that the best they can do is alleviate the impact of poverty. The real levers lie with Westminister and the UK government needs to get their act together on this agenda.
This does not mean that the Welsh Goverment is blameless. The chief cause of poverty in Wales is lack of economic activity and low GDP. While the Welsh economy struggles to attract investment and good quality jobs then families will continue to struggle to feed and clothe their children.
If Welsh Ministers want to make a real impact on child poverty then they need to do what they have promised for the last 25 years, and have failed to do, and that is get our economy moving again. Why didn't the committee mention that in its report?
