Child Poverty - Mini Progress Report

So this was published today – and it made me think, just how much progress has the WAG made in eradicating child poverty? :

“Deputy Minister for Children Huw Lewis has announced his intention to create several “pioneer” areas within Wales to pin-point best practice models of family support in our efforts to help lift children and young people out of poverty...”

(For more go here - http://wales.gov.uk/newsroom/childrenandyoungpeople/2010/100624pioneers/?lang=en)

Remember the WAG has signed up to eradicating child poverty in Wales by 2020. They missed their target of halving child poverty by 2010 and one wonders, why has it taken ten years to start working on best practice for family support systems?

It also makes you think that more than ten years after the Assembly started work this was unveiled:

http://wales.gov.uk/consultations/childrenandyoungpeople/cpstrategy/;jsessionid=lYXJMjjp82LsT0nDQ5TgnzRmTDJn2ZNZGkbqTkZf6vyltM1QW5TJ!-395677726?lang=en

Currently in consultation phase the “Child poverty strategy for Wales and delivery plan” seeks to “set out the Welsh Assembly Government’s vision for tackling child poverty in Wales and improving outcomes for children and parents living in low income families”.

The consultation is due to finish in August. But why the need for another consultation? What’s been going on for ten years? Shouldn’t there be some sort of action plan already in place?

I appreciate that there’s been a change of First Minister in the past six months, but it’s still the same party (coalition accepted)in control – so why another consultation?

Department for Work and Pensions’ figures show that child poverty remains at the2007/2008 level of 32% for Wales. With a 192,000 children living in poverty and 126,000 of those in severe poverty. With less than ten years to go before the 2020 deadline, and a lot of work to be done, is the WAG doing enough?

Dewi Un

Hat in the ring?

I write this holed up in bed with a fever, apologies for my absence in the podcast but in the circumstances I think the boys did admirably!

Huw Lewis has all but announced his candidacy for the Labour leadership in a speech he made in Llanelli last night. I suppose given all the talk of the past few months this comes as no real surprise to anyone, but it does show that he’s not daunted by the prospect of replacing a First Minister with a 65% approval rating!

His speech to the West Wales Cooperative party included a string of policy proposals the most striking of which is his idea for a £50 million National children’s savings plan. Mr Lewis, the AM for Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney, believes that his ambitious proposal would provide children from all backgrounds with the opportunity to benefit from a range of extra curricular activities.

Mr Lewis has gambled that he is more likely to win the nomination by jumping as far left as he can. In his speech he spoke of letting Labour be Labour, of how the free market has failed and of how the Labour instinct had been right all along. Obviously trying to align himself with the socialist sensibilities of those in his party and hoping perhaps that the current economic climate (sorry) will make people more open to a lefty candidate than a centrist.

It’s an interesting (if obvious) strategy being undertaken by Huw Lewis and one that I look forward to seeing how his “opponent” Carwyn Jones reacts to. I am however reminded of the Michael Foot Manifesto of 1983. Now better known as the 'longest suicide note in history’ his decision to jump to the left to try and win votes against the free market-loving Thatcherites failed miserably. I wonder if this will be the fate of Huw Lewis candidacy?

I also think that candidate manifestos may be irrelevant, in today’s world of style over substance I can see a situation where the Labour party base their decision purely on who the public recognises.

Thoughts?

Dewi Un