First Minister Carwyn Jones will reiterate his Welsh Government’s commitment to eradicate child poverty in Wales by 2020 at a conference today.
Mr Jones will be speaking at the Eurochild conference in Cardiff, which brings together children’s experts and representatives from across Europe to look at the issue of child poverty.
He said: “There is no greater priority for me or the Welsh Government than ensuring that our children have the best possible start in life. Wales has long led the way in the UK in recognising and giving practical expression to the intrinsic rights of children and young people. We are proud of our record.
“We are alone in the UK in enshrining the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in law and this year saw the ‘Rights of Children and Young Persons (Wales) Measure’ passed in the National Assembly for Wales. We are also alone in granting children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities the right to challenge decisions about their education. And we were the first of the UK nations to pass legislation on child poverty.
“We have to get this right in Wales. We have some very real challenges and that is precisely why the Welsh Government maintains it’s rightly challenging target of eradicating child poverty by 2020.”