Plaid Cymru vow to lift Welsh children out of poverty
Plaid Cymru has vowed to lift every child in Wales out of absolute poverty by 2026 if it wins the next Senedd election.
The party's economy spokeswoman Helen Mary Jones said the "desperate" problem needed to be tackled head on. Plaid said 90,000 children in the country are living in absolute poverty, and 200,000 in relative poverty. The party said making direct payments "is more than possible" and "can be done rather quickly". Ms Jones said: "The Welsh Government absolutely need to tackle the desperate problem that is widespread poverty in Wales head on, rather than using half measures and repeatedly sticking a plaster over the problem." "Take free school meals for example and the huge numbers of children currently receiving them. That isn't a solution to poverty, it's a symptom," she said. In the last financial year 85,731 pupils were eligible for free school meals. Plaid said if it formed a government it would lift every child out of absolute poverty by the end of the next Senedd term, which would end in 2026. According to a UK Parliament paper, absolute poverty is usually defined as living within a household where the income is below 60% of the average in 2010/11. In comparison, relative poverty is described as living in a home where the income is below 60% of the average income for a given year. Ms Jones added: "Tackling poverty in Wales is certainly a substantial task, but as this pandemic has made clear, issuing direct payments to those who need it is more than possible, and can be done rather quickly." The Welsh Government abandoned a target to end child poverty by 2020 four years ago. At the time UK government welfare changes were blamed for not being able to meet the goal. The Welsh Government was asked for comment.