This week’s headline grabbing cooperation deal between Welsh Labour and Plaid Cymru looks set to dominate the political and media agenda for the foreseeable future. But what does it mean for people living in poverty in Wales, and beyond? Sarah Rees, Head of Oxfam Cymru, goes behind the headlines.
As you’d expect, the deal between Welsh Labour and Plaid Cymru is big on rhetoric and light on detail. But within it, there are some welcome commitments which, if delivered on, could help begin to bring down Wales’ stubbornly high poverty rate and start addressing our pervasive gender inequality problem.
1. Devolution of welfare benefits
Perhaps one of the most eye-catching policies listed within the cooperation agreement is the plan to support the devolution of the administration of welfare and explore the necessary infrastructure required to prepare for it.
Given that Wales’ poverty rate has remained stubbornly high for the last 15 years, reform is certainly required. Right now, too many people are falling through the gaping holes in a social security net which is failing to protect all of us from the injustice of poverty.
What a new system looks like and how it’s delivered remains to be seen but if Ministers are serious about closing those gaps in the net, then it must be designed and delivered in collaboration with people who have first-hand experience of living in poverty.
Devolving welfare benefits could also provide the Government with a golden opportunity to fill in the gaps in Wales’ anti-poverty agenda: which is currently missing both a single, overarching anti-poverty strategy and a Ministerial role specifically responsible for poverty reduction.
2. The commitments on children
Wales currently has the worst child poverty rate of all the UK nations, with 31% of children living below the poverty line. That’s why the pledge that all primary school children will now be entitled to free school meals – something Wales’ Anti-Poverty Coalition has long called for – is so important. As things currently stand, there are thousands of children in Wales who are trapped in poverty who miss out on a healthy, nutritious meal during the school day. And we know that all of the research shows that free school meals result in more than just full tummies: but also improve engagement and concentration at school.
Another key pledge is to expand the free childcare offer so that all two-year-olds are entitled to 12.5 hours of free care. We know that flexible, accessible childcare is critical to tackling poverty: supporting both children’s development and, crucially, helping parents boost their incomes by increasing their chances of being able to access work, education or training.
But up until now, Wales’ free childcare offer simply hasn’t cut the mustard: too many parents, particularly from disadvantaged backgrounds, including refugees and those seeking asylum, miss out because of all of the onerous and inexplicable rules and requirements. Extending free childcare to all two year olds would be a massive leap forward if it happens. As part of this review, Ministers would be wise to also act on the low pay and poor working conditions often faced by childcare workers themselves.
3. Moving forwards with creating a National Care Service
Another promise in the deal is to set up an expert group to advise on the creation of a National Care Service, including a pledge to work towards” parity of “reward and recognition” for health and care workers. Clearly, Wales’ care sector has been overlooked and its workers undervalued for far too long, so attempts to shine a spotlight on care are welcome, but only if they deliver meaningful change for those who give and receive care across the country. Such change will only be delivered if the views and voices of those people are at the very heart of the decisions made about their lives and futures.
Our carers – both paid and unpaid – are the hidden engine that drives the Welsh economy, the invisible glue that holds our society together. Yet carers across Wales are also more likely to live in poverty; and it’s no coincidence that they’re also more likely to be women. Investing in Wales’ care infrastructure and recognising that all caring is work, whether it’s paid or not, isn’t just the right thing to do, but it will also help build a more fair, equal and caring country where no one faces poverty as a consequence of caring.
4. Exploring becoming a net zero nation by 2035
We’ve all heard the stark warnings from scientists that we have just nine years to get a handle on runaway climate change, which is causing flooding on our doorstep and devastating droughts and cyclones around the world.
And despite the fact that they have done least to cause the climate crisis, we know that it is the poorest people – wherever they live – who are hit the hardest. It’s unconscionable to leave poor communities here in Wales and around the world to pick up the tab for the climate emergency the Welsh Government acknowledges we’re facing, especially when the wealthiest 1 per cent of people in the UK each produce 11 times the amount of carbon emissions of someone in the poorest half of the population.
If we’re to avert the worst impacts of climate breakdown then faster, fairer emissions cuts are clearly needed. The Welsh Government must strain every sinew to become a net zero nation at the earliest opportunity. Delay costs lives.
5. And a last word on Senedd reform…
In 2018, the Welsh Government announced its intention to lead a ‘feminist government’ and since then, Oxfam Cymru and the Women’s Equality Network Wales have been tracking progress towards this goal via the Feminist Scorecard. One of the areas Welsh politicians have been failing on has been representation, so it’s encouraging to hear that plans are afoot to introduce legally binding gender quotas. But the detail about which women are represented is important too: to date there has been just one female Member of the Senedd from a minority ethnic background.
And of course, while welcome, such changes must only be the starting point of the Welsh Government’s ambition to do more on equal representation: it must also do everything in its power to push for greater equality at local government level. Our latest Feminist Scorecard revealed that the proportion of women contesting and being elected to local government remains stunningly low: just 28% of local councillors, four of the 22 council leaders (18%) and 27% of Council Cabinet members were women. At the rate of change to date, gender balance in Welsh councils is unlikely before 2073. Welsh political leaders, must go further, faster.
Promises, promises
While the mood music is encouraging, there is certainly much work to be done to address poverty and inequality in Wales and beyond. The true test of the effectiveness of Welsh Labour and Plaid Cymru’s deal will be in the delivery of bold policies, not bold rhetoric and promises.