‘Baby bundles would invest in child’s life from the beginning’
EVERY newborn baby in Wales should receive a “baby bundle” as a present from the Welsh Government to welcome him or her to the world, according to Welsh Labour leadership frontrunner Mark Drakeford.
If he is elected, Mr Drakeford said a pilot would take place to see what exactly the bundle would contain, but it was likely to include a Moses basket, clothes, a digital ear thermometer, a baby sling, books and a play mat.
The concept first originated in Finland in the 1930s, and has recently been rolled out in Scotland.
Once the bundle’s final contents have been decided, the scheme will be rolled out across Wales.
Mr Drakeford, the Welsh Government’s Finance Secretary, launched the idea at Little Inspirations Day Nursery at Rhydyfelin, Pontypridd with a speech in which he explained how it tied into his own political philosophy.
He said: “For me, the whole idea of a baby bundle or a baby box as it was originally put to me came at a surgery, where some constituents from Cardiff West came together with some representatives of Unite the union as part of a campaign the union was running to draw attention to what was going on in Scotland and get the idea taken up more widely.
“As a result of that first meeting [Cardiff North AM] Julie Morgan became involved and helped to develop the idea further.
“It’s a very good example, it seems to me, of the way in which citizens in Wales are able to influence the policy process, to inject ideas into the political bloodstream, and then to see that idea developed and turned into something that’s going to make a difference here in Wales.”
He said it was important to move services to the “preventative end of the spectrum”, investing in conditions that could create success in the future rather than waiting until things had gone wrong, and then having to provide services to try to put things right.
“By investing in a child’s life at the very beginning, making sure that they have the best start and that parents have the things they need to provide that best start, is absolutely in that preventative strand of thinking which we’re determined to try to do more of in Wales.
“It’s also slap bang in the middle of an anti-poverty agenda. We know that the things that happen at the very start of life have an impact way into children’s futures.
“We know that we live in a sharply unequal society in which some families are able to do things and have things without having to think about it, and other families struggle to get even the most basic things that they need to give their child the start in life that every one of us would like to see for our families,
“The baby bundle is an example of how we can invest in that child poverty agenda to create for children here in Wales the sort of future we would want for them. It’s an example of progressive universalism. Here in Wales we believe in universal services. We believe that the way to make services good for everybody is to give everybody a stake in making those services as good as they possibly can be for the articulate and the wellinformed as well as for those who struggle to get their voices heard.”
Another reason, said Mr Drakeford, for launching the scheme was to be part of a wider movement that has invested in the idea in countries like Finland, Scotland and parts of England, and to make sure that Wales is not left behind.
He said: “If I were to be elected leader, if I were to be the First Minister, this is the first practical example of the difference that could be made.”
Asked by the Western Mail how he would respond to criticism from tribal politicians that he was copying an idea from the SNP government in Scotland, Mr Drakeford said: “I have never believed that devolution is about an inward-looking idea in which we fend off things that happen elsewhere.
“We should always be interested in learning from what happens – the living laboratory approach to devolution in which we try things out in different places and learn from one another.
“It isn’t as simple as just picking up something and dropping it down in Wales. That’s why we’re arguing for a pilot scheme in which we make sure we do this in a way that would create the maximum advantages for new families here in Wales. Of course we should be open to ideas from elsewhere, wherever they come from, if we think they’ve got something to offer us here.”
He had no doubt the scheme would be affordable, with each baby bundle costing about £100 and more than 32,000 babies born in Wales last year.