Welsh Child Payment could “lift 50,000 children out of poverty” claims leader of Plaid Cymru

ERADICATING child poverty is a priority for Plaid Cymru says Leader Adam Price.

 Introducing a £35 per week payment for every child in low income families in Wales could lift 50,000 children out of poverty, Adam Price has said.

Speaking ahead of the Plaid Cymru debate today in the Senedd, Plaid Cymru Leader Adam Price said that children born today were at the “highest risk of poverty” in sixty years and that parents were having to choose between “feeding themselves and feeding their children”.

Data for Carmarthenshire indicates between 28 – 31% of children are living in poverty.

One of Plaid Cymru’s main policies during the general election in December last year was to “eradicate child poverty in Wales” and Mr Price said that that had not changed.

The Plaid Cymru Leader said that a newly elected Plaid Cymru government in 2021 would make lifting children in Wales out of poverty one of its “priorities” and cited a Welsh Child Payment to every child in low income families as one potential option in doing this. He added that a payment of £35 per week could “drastically transform the lives of young people across Wales” giving them “the best start in life they deserve”.

Mr Price said that whilst Labour in Wales “don’t even have a specific strategy” to tackle poverty, Plaid Cymru would deliver a programme of government with a priority of eradicating child poverty.

Mr Price said that Plaid Cymru wouldn’t “just manage problems” but would “solve them”.

Plaid Cymru Leader Adam Price said:

“Children born today are now at the highest risk of poverty in sixty years. Parents have to choose between feeding themselves and feeding their children. Growing up and living in poverty is no longer the exception in Wales. It is the norm.

 “One of Plaid Cymru’s main policies during the general election last year was to eradicate child poverty in Wales. That has not changed.

 “A Plaid Cymru would make lifting children out of poverty one of its main priorities. One of the ways we could do this is to potentially introduce a new Welsh Child Payment for low-income families. A payment of £35 a week for every child could drastically transform the lives of young people across Wales and providing them with the best start in life they deserve.

 “Whilst Labour in Wales don’t even have a specific strategy to tackle poverty nor even a basic definition of poverty, Plaid Cymru will deliver a competent government which prioritises eradicating child poverty.

 “We won’t just manage problems. We will solve them. Poverty is a political choice. Plaid Cymru will make sure that Wales will choose differently.