Children and Young People Committee

Inquiry into Child Poverty

Additional Evidence from Barnardo's Cymru

Child Poverty Inquiry: Additional Information from Barnardo’s Cymru

Rural Development Sub-Committee Inquiry: Poverty and Deprivation in Rural Wales- requested written comment on Ministerial Statement on Child Poverty

Barnardo’s Cymru welcomes the Ministerial commitment to tackling child poverty as 'top of the list of priorities’ for the Assembly Government Cabinet. This reflects the continued and stated commitment of the Assembly Government to this cross-cutting issue which has helped to position child poverty as an area for action in Wales. The inclusion of Core Aim 7- that children and young people are not disadvantaged by poverty- is significant in ensuring that child poverty is tackled at the local authority level through action under the local Single Plan for Children and Young People in each area. In contrast in England only 41 of the 388 local authorities have set child poverty as a priority performance indicator in their local area agreement (Children and Young People Now, 23.04.08).

However the claim that 'many’ of the proposals contained in the report of the Child Poverty Task Group (2004), the Assembly’s Child Poverty Strategy (2005) and the Child Poverty implementation Plan (2006) have been taken forward is over-stated. The child poverty proofing of strategic polices is welcomed. However it is not clear what can be achieved through this process in the shorter term, while the publication of specific milestones and targets on child poverty has achieved very little.

The Ministerial Statement contains examples of many initiatives being taken forward. However with the exception of 'Flying Start’ which can be directly related back to a call for investment in early years intervention contained in the earlier strategic documents identified above these initiatives do not go far enough in providing a cohesive approach to tackling child poverty based on the existing strategic framework. This is particularly true in relation to Strand 1: Improving the life opportunities for disadvantaged children. This Strand clearly relates to Service and Participation Poverty, two areas which are devolved and in which the Assembly Government could have a significant impact on the lived experiences of children and young people growing up in conditions of Income Poverty. Action under Core Aim 7 at a local authority level(Shared Planning for Better Outcomes, Guidance WAG, Circular No: 31/2007) , under the proposed Legislative Competence Order (no 3) and through the National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services (WAG, 2006) would go some way to addressing these issues. However we have serious concerns about a continuing implementation gap, lack of supporting resources and a lack of transparent scrutiny processes to ensure that these polices have a tangible positive impact on the everyday lives of and outcomes for disadvantaged children and young people. The children, young people and families that Barnardo’s Cymru work with continue to experience considerable Service and Participation poverty which impacts on their ability to enjoy a good quality of life and to reach their potential.

The focus on Strands 2 and 3 is welcomed, improving financial inclusion and supporting better take-up of tax and benefit entitlement are significant issues. Improving household incomes will go some way to protecting children and young people from the impact of child poverty. However without sufficient co-ordinated implementation of initiatives aimed at Service and Participation this action can only have a limited impact on improving the quality of life and opportunities open to disadvantaged children and young people.

We are also concerned about the omission of some significant issues from the Ministerial Statement. Specifically the Statement does not include a discussion of transport- an issue which cuts across all three dimensions of child poverty in terms of access to goods, services, opportunities to participate and access to training and employment. There is no discussion of in-work poverty, an issue which we highlighted in our original written submission to the Rural Development Sub-Committee. Access to goods, services and opportunities to participate, transport and in-work poverty are all central issues to be addressed in tackling child poverty in the rural context.

We consider that the final section of the Ministerial Statement entitled 'Delivering Change’ is the most important content of the Statement. The positioning of child poverty as a priority area for action is to be applauded. However we are concerned that this issue is being reviewed, considered and contemplated by all with no cohesive mechanism for ensuring that the contents of the existing strategic frameworks which can address child poverty are actually being delivered in a co-ordinated and meaningful way.