Child poverty is Labour’s biggest failure in government

The latest Department for Work and Pensions’ figures show that child poverty remains at the 07/08 level of 32% for Wales. Among the 192,000 children, 126,000 live in severe poverty, continuously facing hardships as a result of their parents’ economic situation.

It is shocking that there has been so little progress in the fight against child poverty in Wales since we revealed last year that the number of children living in poverty had increased. This situation is both shameful and unacceptable and it clearly shows the lack of commitment by the Labour-Plaid Welsh Assembly Government and the previous Labour administration in Westminster to deliver on their promise to halve the number living in poverty by 2010 and eradicate by 2020. The fact that over one third of children in Wales continue to live in poverty is the biggest failure of Labour’s thirteen years in government.

We have been warning the Assembly Government for years to do more in the fight against child poverty but apart from rhetoric and countless consultations we have witnessed more and more children slipping into poverty, even in good economic times, over the last four years.

The latest figures do not even take into account the thousands of parents who lost their jobs during the recession. The number of children in poverty today may be even higher than we think.

The Liberal Democrats in the UK coalition government are committed to tackling child poverty and that is why we will introduce a fairer tax system that will put more money in the pockets of low and middle income families. Much can and will be done to fight social injustice and reduce child poverty across the UK but the Welsh Assembly Government needs to do its part if we want to improve the lives of children in our country.

Poverty is not just an immediate threat to the well-being of children but it has severe consequences for the health, education as well as personal goals and ambitions of the next generation in Wales. If we want a prosperous and sustainable future, with a fair start in life for all, we need decisive action to eradicate child poverty today.

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