Plans to provide 5,000 job and training opportunities for households in Wales where no-one has a job are at the heart of new Welsh Government plans to tackle poverty announced on Wednesday.
The Tackling Poverty Action plan 2013 sets out how Ministers will target resources across departments to prevent poverty and alleviate its impact on people’s lives, while also helping individuals into work.
A key focus will be targeted help for workless households in Wales where no-one has a paid job. Workless households are strongly linked with persistent poverty across generations. The help will offer personalised, intensive support which will consider an individual’s circumstances to help the long-term unemployed back into work; some will be entering employment for the first time.
The plan also includes action to help improve the educational attainment of children from low income families, a new target to reduce the number of young people who are not earning or learning and ambitions to improve people’s health.
Other key targets include:
- Reducing the number of young people aged 16-18 who are not in employment, education or training to 9% by 2017.
- Narrowing the gap in attainment levels for children age seven eligible for free school meals by 10% by 2017.
- Improving the overall attainment levels of pupils eligible for free school meals to GCSE grade C or above in English or Welsh and Mathematics or equivalent to 37% by 2017.
- By 2016 we will increase the proportion of three-year olds receiving Flying Start services to achieve or exceed their developmental milestones by 5%.
- Increasing the percentage of young people leaving care who are in education, training or employment to 51% by 2017.
- Close the health gaps between those living in the most deprived communities and more affluent ones by 2.5% by 2020.
- Reducing the number of babies born under 5.5 pounds (2500g) in the most deprived fifth of the population by 19% by 2020.
First Minister Carwyn Jones, the Minister for Communities and Tackling Poverty, Jeff Cuthbert and the Deputy Minister for Tackling Poverty, Vaughan Gething launched the plan at an event in Cardiff.
The First Minister said: “This plan is a clear commitment, right across the Welsh Government, that we will use our resources to help those currently most in need and prevent future generations experiencing poverty. These are hard times – a flat lining economy, the biggest shake-up to the benefits system in sixty years, public spending cuts and rising living costs.
“Despite this, sitting back and watching the costs associated with poverty escalate is not an option. We are determined to leave no stone unturned in finding ways of preventing and reducing poverty, which imposes enormous costs on society. The lower level of skills, poor health and poverty of ambition that deprivation brings with it are not only a tragedy for an individual, but a brake on the potential of Wales as a country.
“Underlining everything we do is an ambition to make sure that everyone, regardless of how poor they are or where they live, have equal and fair access to essential services.”