A report by a committee of the National Assembly for Wales said that despite 'lots of good ideas and innovative policy' from the Welsh Assembly Government, there was little evidence of coherent strategic co-ordination of policies to tackle child poverty. It called for a coherent strategy to assist schools and education providers in countering the effects of child poverty.
Source: Child Poverty in Wales: Eradication through Education?, Children and Young People Committee/National Assembly for Wales (029 2082 5111)
Links: Report | NAW press release
Date: 2008-Nov
A report examined the barriers to the take-up in Wales of council tax benefit and housing benefit. It highlighted best practice, based on the experience of the local authorities that had successfully increased take-up in recent years.
Source: Council Tax Benefit and Housing Benefit: Barriers to Take-up in Wales, Welsh Assembly Government (029 2082 5111)
Links: Report | WAG press release
Date: 2008-Oct
A report said that more needed to be done to help the ever-rising number of Welsh households living in fuel poverty. As many as 6 in 10 people in Wales had been affected to some degree by rising energy costs. More than a quarter (27 per cent) had either gone into arrears, cut back significantly on other purchases, or had found it a struggle to pay their energy bills. Most affected were those from the lower-income groups, people living in North Wales, people living in rural communities, those with children in the household, and those living in rented accommodation.
Source: Lindsey Kearton, Keeping the Heat on: Fuel poverty in Wales, Welsh Consumer Council (029 2025 5454)
Links: Links removed by WCC
Date: 2008-Sep
A report said that life was more expensive for over 190,000 people in Wales without access to a bank or building society account – simply because they paid bills and made everyday purchases in cash, rather than using direct debit or other electronic payment methods.
Source: Sarah Richards, Access To Cash, Welsh Consumer Council (029 2025 5454)
Links: Report
Date: 2008-Aug
A report by a committee of the National Assembly for Wales made a series of recommendations for tackling poverty and deprivation in rural Wales.
Source: Poverty and Deprivation in Rural Wales, Rural Development Sub-committee/National Assembly for Wales (029 2082 5111)
Links: Report | NAW press release | BBC report
Date: 2008-Jul
The Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation 2008 was published, replacing the 2005 Index. Overall, the most deprived 10 per cent of local areas in Wales had around twice the concentration of both income– and employment-deprived individuals as the average for Wales as a whole.
Source: Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation 2008, Welsh Assembly Government (029 2082 5111)
Links: Report | WAG press release
Date: 2008-Jul
The Welsh Assembly Government began consultation on proposals to place a duty on all public agencies to make, and demonstrate, a contribution to ending child poverty.
Source: Taking Action on Child Poverty: Consultation Paper, Welsh Assembly Government (029 2082 5111)
Links: Consultation document
Date: 2008-Jun
A report presented the findings from a qualitative evaluation of the New Deal Plus for Lone Parents pilot in Jobcentre Plus districts in Scotland and Wales. Staff felt that the pilot offered lone parents the support needed to address multiple barriers to entering employment: but there was a need to 'fine tune' some of the elements to make them more appropriate to claimant needs.
Source: Sarah Jenkins, Extension of the New Deal Plus for Lone Parents Pilot to Scotland and Wales: Qualitative evaluation, Research Report 499, Department for Work and Pensions (0113 399 4040)
Date: 2008-Jun
A report said that approximately 13 per cent of children in Wales – around 90,000 children – lived in severe poverty. These children live in households with income below 50 per cent of the median, and went without two or more goods or services because the family could not afford them, such as school trips and holidays. It set out an action plan to tackle the problem.
Source: Anne Crowley and Victoria Winckler, Children in Severe Poverty in Wales: An agenda for action, Save the Children (020 7703 5400)
Links: Report | SCF press release | BBC report
Date: 2008-Mar
The Welsh Assembly Government began consultation on new goals for its 'Communities First' 10-year programme for economic regeneration. There would be a new emphasis on programme partnerships demonstrating practical action to tackle economic and social regeneration. Partnerships would need to show evidence that they were delivering by improving income generation, delivering skills and employment opportunities, tackling child poverty, or improving health and well-being. The programme would be renamed 'Communities Next'.
Source: Communities Next: Consultation on the future of the Communities First Programme, Welsh Assembly Government (029 2082 5111)
Links: Consultation document
Date: 2008-Jan
