Call follows weeks of debate over Welsh Government pledges, childcare, free school meals and direct support for struggling families
MPs are inviting frontline workers across Wales to share evidence on how child poverty is affecting families and communities.
The Welsh Affairs Committee is asking practitioners who work with children and families to take part in an online roundtable at 3:00pm on Tuesday, July 14.
The session will help inform the committee’s inquiry into working towards ending child poverty in Wales.
It comes after weeks of renewed political debate over child poverty, including Welsh Government pledges on childcare, free school meals and direct support for low-income families.
The latest call from MPs shifts the focus from policy promises to frontline experience, asking those working directly with families to explain where poverty is being felt most sharply, which groups are most at risk, and whether current support is reaching the people who need it.
Welsh Government figures have previously shown around 31% of children in Wales living in relative income poverty, while the Bevan Foundation has said latest data points to around 210,000 children being affected.
MPs say they want to hear directly from people working in communities, including those supporting families at greater risk of poverty, such as households with disabled adults or children, and ethnic minority-headed households.
Committee chair Ruth Jones MP said: “Our inquiry is investigating the barriers to ending child poverty in Wales. Hearing from individuals working to support families in communities up and down the country will provide the committee with invaluable insight, which can then inform our recommendations to the UK Government.
“We are keen to hear from a diverse range of practitioners across Wales, especially those working with disabled or ethnic minority groups. I encourage those with valuable experience to share to take the opportunity to participate.”
Child poverty affects communities in different ways across Wales. In rural areas, families can face higher transport costs, limited access to childcare, poor public transport and fewer local services. In urban communities, housing costs, insecure work, debt and pressure on food banks are among the key issues raised by campaigners.
Practitioners are being asked to email [email protected] by Friday, June 26, with details of their organisation, where in Wales they work, whether they support families at higher risk of poverty, and a brief outline of their experience.
Applicants will be told by Tuesday, June 30, whether they have been selected to take part.
The Welsh Affairs Committee scrutinises the work of the Wales Office and UK Government policy affecting Wales. Its inquiry is looking at how the UK and Welsh governments can work together to tackle child poverty and what barriers remain to ending it.
