‘More must be done to lift children in Wales out of poverty’
NEARLY three-quarters of people in Wales believe the Welsh Government should do more to lift children out of poverty, according to a new poll.
A Savanta ComRes poll for the public services union Unison Cymru found that 73% want more done, 4% less, 16% the same as now, while the rest said they didn’t know.
One in three children in Wales live in poverty, according to the Joseph Rowntree Trust, and Unison wants this to be urgently addressed by the next Welsh Government through investment in public services and high-quality council and social housing.
Many public services such as youth clubs, leisure centres and libraries have been reduced or disappeared in communities across Wales after 10 years of severe spending cuts driven by successive Westminster governments.
Unison’s poll shows a clear majority of Welsh people think good access to key public services promotes equality.
Some 69% believe good access to social care promotes equality in communities in Wales, while 63% believe good access to youth clubs does the same, as do 58% so far as good access to leisure centres is concerned.
The poll also found 63% of the public support the Welsh Government overseeing a building programme of high-quality council and social housing in Wales.
Unison branch secretary Jan Tomlinson said: “Unison healthcare workers at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board make regular donations to food banks in north Wales and recently we made sure hundreds of local children had a chocolate egg at Easter.
“Food bank use in Britain is at record levels. They should not need to exist in a civilised society. In-work poverty is growing and there’s been an increase in workers in the care sector, the NHS and councils, needing to use food banks.
“The next Welsh Government must be compassionate and can never forget those who desperately need our help.”
Unison Cymru regional secretary Karen Loughlin said: “Inequality has grown during the pandemic. Across Wales people are trapped in poverty. It causes them great distress, stunts ambitions and leaves talent untapped. We are failing thousands of children and we must do better than this.
“Well-funded public services like youth clubs, leisure centres, libraries, social care, could help reduce inequality within communities in Wales. We need them back at the heart of communities.
“Mortality from Covid has been higher in deprived areas and substandard housing is linked to poor health. Building many more highquality council and social homes would tackle that effectively.
“These need to be the priorities of the next Welsh Government.”
Launching a child poverty action plan last November, Welsh Labour’s Communities Minister Julie James said: “We have continued to review what more the Welsh Government can do to reduce costs for families, boost incomes and ensure the investment in programmes and services which contribute to tackling poverty is improving outcomes for children and young people, both in the short term and in the long term.”
As part of its commitment to eradicate child poverty, Plaid Cymru says it will provide targeted payments of £10 a week to families living below the poverty line, rising to £35 a week before the end of the next Senedd term.
Plaid spokeswoman Delyth Jewell said: “Child poverty in Wales can be ended if the political will is there” and promised a “relentless focus on breaking the cycle of poorer prospects and school attainment for children from lower income families”.
The Welsh Conservatives say they would extend free school meals to families without an income and those unable to claim public funds, as well as to learners in further education.
“No child in 21st-century Wales should be going to school hungry,” said Laura Anne Jones, the party’s spokeswoman on the issue.
■ Savanta ComRes interviewed 1,021 Welsh adults aged 16 and over online between April 1-7. Data were weighted to be representative of Welsh adults by age, gender, region and socio-economic group.