Watchdog launches child poverty strategy for Wales

The children's rights watchdog in Wales has published its first strategy on child poverty. In it, the watchdog voices concern over the Welsh Government's decision to make tackling child poverty part of an overall plan covering children and adults, rather than adopting a child-centred approach.

Key points

  • A child poverty approach is essentially different from a family poverty approach, the watchdog says. It puts the child at the centre of all policy measures and acknowledges the child as having rights that extend beyond the family.
  • Child poverty in Wales is a significant problem and looks set to affect the lives of growing numbers of children and young people. These will have their childhood opportunities limited, may be restricted in their ability to access their rights, and are at risk of entering adulthood with limited opportunities to realise their potential.
  • The global economic crisis and changes to the UK welfare system mean that growing numbers of children and young people are part of families finding it difficult to cope financially on a day-to-day basis. One result is that food poverty is an issue facing growing numbers of families in Wales.
  • The watchdog commits to working with its equivalents in other parts of the UK to raise concerns about the ongoing impact of the government's benefit reforms on children and young people.

The watchdog strategy will be updated each year in future.

SourceChild Poverty Strategy: 2012 Onwards, Children's Commissioner for Wales
LinksStrategy | CCW press release | BBC report

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