Child Poverty

Our key calls for change:

• UK Government to end the two-child limit and the benefit cap.
• Welsh Government to develop a clear action plan and monitoring framework with rights-based targets.

Background information & introduction to our work

Child poverty is an issue that cuts across many children’s rights and damages many children’s lives. With 28 % of children living in poverty, Wales has the highest child poverty rate in the UK.

Dr Croke wrote about her concerns in relation to child poverty, in a blog in 2022, including making reference to the UK Government’s two child limit and the benefit cap, as well as a focus on relevant levers for change in Wales, including the call for a refreshed Welsh Government Child Poverty Strategy.

After widespread campaigning by the third sector, including CLCW, the Welsh Government committed to developing a new Child Poverty Strategy in 2023.

Dr Croke was invited to give written evidence and oral evidence alongside Children’s Commissioner for Wales, to the Senedd Equality and Social Justice Committee on the Welsh Government’s Draft Child Poverty Strategy.

Whilst we are pleased that our calls for a more explicit reference to children’s rights and a Children’s Rights Approach have been listened to, it is clear from the Strategy that there remain challenges to explaining what this means in practice. The Welsh Government, in its Child Poverty Strategy, has also not done enough to demonstrate clear targets and deliverables for addressing and reducing child poverty and it’s impact on children and their families. 

CLCW has developed strategic partnerships with key organisations working on child poverty and hosted the highly successful Child Poverty Summit funded by the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation in November 2023, with key recommendations for duty bearers in Wales.