Now we know- child poverty targets let-down

Today I expressed my deep disappointment on the floor of the Senedd that the UK Government’s target of abolishing child poverty by 2020 has suffered a severe set-back. Figures released by the Department for Work an Pensions today reveal child poverty levels have risen for a second successive year – there are now an additional 100,000 children living in poverty, taking the total to 3.9million for the UK. The figures are a huge blow to the efforts being made to eradicate child poverty in Wales. The most vulnerable in our society are paying the price for the UK Government’s missed opportunities in several Budgets. There is a moral obligation on Whitehall to come up with the necessary resources to reverse this damaging trend.

I called on the Assembly’s Counsel General to set aside time at the Assembly to debate the issue as a matter of urgency, and also called on Social Justice Minister Brian Gibbons to lobby the Westminster Government for the Assembly to have an enhanced say on Welfare policy.

Other countries across Europe continue to out-perform the UK in child poverty eradication. I fully support calls made by child poverty charities for an additional £3billion from the Treasury to be targeted at children in poverty using the welfare systems. If London continues to show impotence in this area then the Assembly will have an obligation to seek powers over aspects of the welfare system to deliver for our young people.

Today's figures show that:

* The number of children in the UK experiencing low income and material deprivation - those who can't afford basic things such as sending their kids on a school trip - fell by 100,000 between 2005/06 and 2006/07.

* The number of children in relative poverty rose by 100,000, both before and after housing costs are taken into account, to 2.9million (BHC) and 3.9million (AHC) respectively between 2005/06 and 2006/07. Between 1998/99 and 2006/07 the number of children in relative poverty has fallen by 600,000 (BHC) and 500,000 (AHC).

* The numbers of pensioners in relative poverty rose by 300,000 to 2.5million (BHC) and by 200,000 (AHC) to 2.1million between 2005/06 and 2006/07. Between 1998/99 and 2006/07 the number of pensioners in relative poverty has fallen by 200,000 (BHC) and 900,000 (AHC).

Port Talbot Residents Against Power Station

I went to a protest this morning in Port Talbot ( having recovered from my awful day of suffering from food poisoning on Friday) against the wood chip burning plant set to be erected in Port Talbot. The campaigners- Port Talbot Residents against Power Station, are taking the Westminster Government to court, claiming on their latest newsletter that ' it is morally unjustifiable for the Government to build more power stations in Port Talbot when the town is already failing EU air quality health standards on a regular basis.'

I have raised such concerns on an Assembly level, and will continue to so. I also believe that Wales should have the power to decide whether planning is granted for developments which are bigger than 50 mw.

Many residents turned up, but I was glad to see Brian Gibbons AM present, who must be concerned with the way his Labour colleagues in Westminster are dealing with the situation ( and his colleague Hywel Francis, perhaps, who was not present today) I noticed that when the crowd endorsed taking the Government to court, Brian Gibbons clapped in approval. Is this another sign of a divergence of opinion between Labour in Cardiff Bay, and Labour in Westminster?

I hope to raise the issue again this week at the National Assembly because the Environment Agency now has the license to operate the power station and to regulate it. There is an ongoing court case, yes, but if there are ways that we can pursue this matter via the Assembly, then I will do my utmost to represent the voices of the people of the area.

Child Poverty

This week's Assembly session is again a re-run of last week in that it is being dominated by an attempt by some to score points in light of the local elections on Thursday. How much baring this will have on the actual outcome of the election is any one's guess, but its happening nevertheless.

I raised questions today on child poverty in relation to public service delivery, and the recommendation in the recently released report by Save the Children and the Bevan Foundation about the importance of Local Authorities working together in delivering the child poverty agenda effectively. I also raised concerns during business questions about the fact that the Westminster Government has yet again stalled the announcement of data on housing below the average income to June this year, as it may well suggest that the interim child poverty targets are far from reachable in the current climate.

I had a meeting with Brian Gibbons AM today, also on the child poverty strategy. It is useful for me to have such meetings as the spokesperson on this particular issue so that I can keep up to date with Government actions, and any representations that may be made to Westminster colleagues. I am deeply concerned that the DWP are looking to privatise service provision with regard to benefit take up and I will be keeping an eye on developments in this field. It just seems ironic that while the Government in Wales wants to decentralise service provision and support public sector positions, the Westminster Government are taking a very different approach altogether - purely for the sake of financial savings.

Tax credit question to Social Justice Minister

Bethan Jenkins: I also welcome the £3 million in extra resources going in to an awareness campaign on benefit take-up. My only concern is that the recent centralisation of services through the Department for Work and Pensions will severely hinder any development that we will be able to undertake in Wales. The Public and Commercial Services union has said that the new system is rigid and bureaucratic and that we are now moving towards telephone lines where 20 million people have been reported as not being able to access key services. What representations will you be making to your colleagues in the Department for Work and Pensions in relation to this situation?

Brian Gibbons: There is an awareness that one of the big problems is not so much that people are unaware of their entitlements but of how to access those entitlements. Certainly, in the previous scheme on benefit uptake, the more successful organisations were those that gave real practical help to the claimants rather than simply attempting to increase awareness about entitlement. So, I would expect this scheme to build on that good practice and for the individual schemes to give real practical, pragmatic help to claimants so that they can overcome many of the problems that you have outlined.

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Bethan Jenkins: Yr wyf finnau’n croesawu’r £3 miliwn o adnoddau ychwanegol i’w rhoi mewn ymgyrch i godi ymwybyddiaeth pobl o hawlio budd-daliadau. Yr unig bryder sydd gennyf yw y gwnaiff y broses ddiweddar o ganoli gwasanaethau drwy’r Adran Gwaith a Phensiynau lesteirio’n ddifrifol unrhyw ddatblygiad y gallwn ei gyflawni yng Nghymru. Mae Undeb y Gwasanaethau Cyhoeddus a Masnachol wedi dweud bod y system newydd yn anhyblyg ac yn fiwrocrataidd a’n bod yn awr yn symud at linellau ffôn lle mae 20 miliwn o bobl wedi’u cofnodi fel pobl na allant hawlio budd-daliadau. Pa sylwadau y byddwch yn eu gwneud i’ch cyd-Weinidogion yn yr Adran Gwaith a Phensiynau yng nghyswllt y sefyllfa hon?

Brian Gibbons: Cydnabyddir mai un o’r problemau mawr yw nad yw pobl yn gwybod sut mae cael gafael ar eu hawliau yn hytrach na’r ffaith nad ydynt yn ymwybodol o’r hawliau hynny. Yn sicr, yn y cynllun blaenorol ar hawlio budd-daliadau, y mudiadau mwyaf llwyddiannus oedd y rheini a roddodd help ymarferol gwirioneddol i’r hawlwyr yn hytrach na chodi ymwybyddiaeth yn unig am hawliau. Felly, byddwn yn disgwyl i’r cynllun hwn adeiladu ar yr arfer da hwnnw a bod y cynlluniau unigol yn rhoi cymorth ymarferol, pragmatig, gwirioneddol i’r hawlwyr er mwyn iddynt allu goresgyn llawer o’r problemau yr ydych wedi’u hamlinellu.

Benefits take up in Wales

New investment in encouraging benefits take up is to be welcomed today by the Minster, Brian Gibbons AM, especially given that there is up to £100m in council benefits which go unclaimed in Wales in a year. There was a Conference to discuss the possibilities for implementation with key organisations that work in this field today in Llandrindod Wells, which is a positive sign that the One Wales Government is tackling this issue head on.

I'd like to take a tiny bit of praise for this being on the agenda at all, as I have raised it on numerous occassions with the Minister, mainly due to the work that I have been doing in talking to experts in the field about benefits take up. For example, Disability Living Allowance is an area where take up is low in Wales, and where it is often hard for people to find out if they can claim benefits at all.

Of course, we can do everything within our power possible here in Wales to encrouage take-up, but there needs also to be a steer from Westminster. There still isn't the prioritisation of the child poverty agenda that we so desperately need from London. There have been announcements about the new Child Poverty Unit in the DWP, the new workers contract that Gordon Brown launched last week at Labour's Welsh Conference, and Ed Ball's Children's Plan. All commendable in black and white, but they are yet to appear deliverable in practice. Again, we must work hand in hand with Wesminster, and not against them, to ensure that we can seek to take on one of the biggest challenges of our time.

On another subject- Y Byd- I understand that there will be an interesting piece on this on tonight's Dragon's Eye. I will try and reserve judgment until then. I tend to agree with Adam Price on this one, however. Plaid in Government has almost doubled investment in the Welsh medium press, and the possibility of developing a new Welsh Language daily is still open for debate in that the Government is currently tendering for contracts. I believe that a newspaper on the web is the best way forward at thist stage, but I know that others disagree with me.

I do despair, however of some figures in the Nationalist movement purposfully using their positions to create trouble on this issue. Lets put our heads together and get a successful outcome for the future of the Welsh Language Press instead of making public statements for the sake of making a point.

Hain the untouchable

I didn't go to the ITV and the Welsh Yearbook politics awards this year. I was surprised that there would be such a bash for politicians considering the financial crisis that ITV are in at the moment, but there we are....

The only news that I've heard from the evening is of Hain's speech and its bad taste, especially with regards female AM's past and present- comments which I have no inclination to laugh at whatsoever. Other references were made about Doctor Who...Peter Hain travelling in the tardis....failing to see any bother regarding donations in the future....ha ha...

I'm so glad that he can make light of a situation which only last week was plastered on every news channel, and which may cost him dearly in the future. I'm not laughing, and I could hazard a guess that the people of Neath aren't either. Perhaps Hain thinks that he is beyond criticism, that he is untouchable. After his enlightening 'speech' the other night, perhaps he will consider taking a good look at himself and the affect of his actions and words on others in the future.

I had a productive meeting with Brian Gibbons regarding child poverty yesterday. I hope that the schemes underway in Wales will play a part in tackling this issue, although I did raise concerns that while we can show leadership in Wales, we have to work with Westminster if the targets are to be met.

Ed Balls's 10 year plan may be an area to look at but considering that there was no discussion with the WAG prior to Westminster's announcement, we will have to wait with baited breath as to how London's plans will coincide with what happens here( and the child poverty unit in the DWP)

It is somewhat adventurous for the Government in London to term it a '10 year plan', when there is no guarantee that Labour will remain in Government in Westminster for that period of time. I will reserve judgement on it until I receive more information, although I am concerned about the pressure that could be placed on schools to take on more responsibilities with regards the welfare and health of young people across the board.

I also had a meeting with Joseph Rowntree Foundation regarding their work in Wales this week, and they are initiating a significant amount of new research here, which is to be commended. I am eager to organise an event at the Assembly alongside JRF next year, which will again raise the profile of this issue at the Assembly...I hope!

Today is the last day of term at the Assembly, so back to South Wales West it is....

Election day -Early morning start....

Just arrived back fom distributing ' Good Morning, vote Plaid twice' cards in Swansea West. I didn't mind getting up early as it was a lovely morning, and I wasn't sleeping too well anyway! I have a distinct feeling that the Lib dems and Labour were out as well. ( although Labour were probably just targeting their own voters- can't have taken long then!!..)

Excellent Plaid advert on the front of the Evening Post today as well. The party centrally has really sharpened it's act. Let's hope we can continue this momentum after the election, especially if there is a snap General election, and Council elections around the corner! They've really worked hard at HQ, I have to say.

I'm going to get ready to go out and vote now, then to help out in Neath, where Ted Jones the Plaid blogger thinks that we are in the running to win. I must say we've had an excellent response on the streets in Neath, but I couldn't possibly call it one way or the other. We've worked solidly on the campaign for over a year, and it would be great if Alun Llewelyn could beat Gwenda 'out of her depth at the Assembly' Thomas.

I would also love to predict a Plaid win for Aberavon, as our candidate Linet Purcell is exceptional. She is forward-thinking, keen, is able to communicate Plaid's message effectively, and can win over new supporters in a matter of minutes with the excitement and pleasure that she shows in taking part in the campaign. There is no comparison between her and a dull Brian Gibbons. Support on the streets here have also been very very good.

I'll try and blog later on as well, and give some thoughts on the whole election and how it's gone.

I'm also keeping a keen eye on the Scottish elections, and have already made sure that I have text alerts for Clydesdale and Cumbernauld, where two of my SNP friends are standing. It should be a very eventful night in Scotland, that's for sure! Let's hope we can emulate that here in Wales!

Tory health U-turn

Interesting blog from Rhodri Glyn Thomas AM about the Tories' u -turn on their health policy in Wales. In short, when Plaid opened a discussion at the Assembly about retaining the Neurosurgery Unit in Swansea, Cardiff based Tory AM Jonathan Morgan noted that it was for the professionals to decide on such issues, that it was unwise for politicians to interfere in such matters, and that this was their party policy. The Lib dems, Tories and Labour AM's went on to vote along regional lines with regards saving Swansea's Neurosurgery Unit, while Plaid maintained a clear and united consensus against the proposed move to Cardiff- alongside support from thousands of Evening Post readers, who Brian Gibbons famously refused to meet when they visited the Assembly last month.

Recently, it seems the Tories have announced that they are now against the health reconfiguration plans in Wales. Does this mean that they have consulted Health professionals with regards the change in policy, or is this more to do with the imminent election, and the fact that the reconfiguration will no doubt factor quite significantly in people's voting patterns? What does this mean for the Tory AM's who voted in favour of the Neurosurgery move to Cardiff?

Rhodri Glyn Thomas notes that the press have taken little interest in this U turn. Perhaps this could be a new news story for them, as opposed to the tired coalition stories that are being reeled out.

Neurosurgery debate- will this define the election in South West Wales?

It was inspiring for Plaid in South Wales West to read the letter below in the Evening Post yesterday. Dr Dai Lloyd AM and Darren Price, the leader of Plaid Cymru's group at Swansea Council have been campaigning hard for what seems like months on end to retain the Neurosurgery Unit at Swansea. We organised a protest outside the Assembly alongside the Evening Post, and have been active in the campaign to encourage people to sign the petition to keep Neurosurgery at Swansea.

We were the only Party to vote outright against the move to Cardiff- all the other Parties showed clear signs of split loyalties. They all ultimately elected to favour their own individual priorities to that of promoting a coherent party policy on this most important issue.

Nevertheless, Brian Gibbons, the Labour Health Minister seems intent on delaying the issue until after the Assembly election; another ploy to deceive voters. I am sure that this will be a defining election issue, but Plaid will continue to campaign to keep Neurosurgery at Swansea- election or no election.

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In recent letters on the proposed neurosurgery centralisation in Cardiff there seems a sense of resignation that, regardless of when the decision is taken and what that decision is, the Assembly elections are a foregone conclusion and the existing Labour AMs will be re-elected.In a General Election, where individual majorities can be as high as 20,000, this may be the case, but the situation regarding Assembly elections is very different.

The Post petition against the proposal produced 105,000 signatures. As far as I am aware, the vast majority of the Post's sales are in nine constituencies from Aberavon in the east (Brian Gibbons's seat) to Preseli/Pembrokeshire in the west. A Labour AM was elected to eight of those seats. The combined majority of those AMs is just 26,125. Plaid Cymru was second in six of the eight seats, and not far off second in the other two. Plaid AM Dai Lloyd was quoted (Post, January 6) as saying "a Plaid health minister would want neurosurgery to stay in Swansea".

Anyone reading this letter can see from these figures their vote is crucial. I already know which way I'll be voting this year.

John Young

Llys Sant Teilo

Llangyfelach, Swansea