Eleanor Burnham AM, Welsh Liberal Democrat Shadow Minster for Children and Young People will today publicly challenge the Labour-Plaid Government to take urgent action on issues affecting children in Wales.
Speaking in the debate on the recent Annual Report of the Children’s Commissioner for Wales, Eleanor will once again highlight the fact that basic needs are failing to be met.
Eleanor says, “Child poverty targets are being missed, Wales has the highest percentage of children in severe poverty of all the UK nations, and progress in addressing these and other children’s issues is far too slow.
“Time and again the same issues crop up in the Commissioner’s reports. Year after year we are told that school toilets are below standard, yet next to nothing has been done to put that right. Despite a variety of reports since 2004, the Government has decided its best course of action now is to carry out a consultation on best practice guidance in relation to school toilets.
“As my party’s spokesperson on children I have been involved in these debates for some years. In all honesty, in this afternoon’s debate I could probably speak using much of the same briefing paper I used for the 2007-08 Report.
“The Labour-Plaid government will say they welcome the report and the hard work of the Commissioner, but the test of their commitment is in making sure that policies are swiftly transferred into practical results, and so far they have consistently failed to come up to the mark.
“It’s not acceptable to try to blame others: the responsibility lies firmly with this Government and so does the ability to take serious action to improve the lives and prospects of Welsh children”.
