A Labour Minister in the Welsh Government has been told to “get real” after claiming that the rest of the UK could learn from them about poverty when Wales performs less well than all regions in England according to a new study by the UK Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission. (State of the Nation, 2013).
“I cannot understand a comment made by Labour’s Deputy Minister for Tackling Poverty when he claimed that ‘that the rest of the UK could learn from what the Welsh Government is doing,’” commented Aled Roberts AM, who speaks on Children and Young People for the Liberal Democrats. “What planet is he on? He must get real because, whatever way you look at it, the record in Wales is not good.
“Educational attainment for children who are in receipt of free school meals is unacceptably low in comparison with England, where the report states that 50% more pupils on free school meals achieve five good grades at GCSE when compared to Wales. How can Vaughan Gething, Labour’s Deputy Minister for Tackling Poverty, argue that England has something to learn from Wales?
“Given the weight of evidence in this study showing how badly children in Wales are faring compared with their counterparts in the other UK countries, how can the Deputy Minister seriously believe that the UK “could learn from what the Welsh Government is doing”? I have grave misgivings about his understanding of the situation.
“Just this week the Education Minister, Huw Lewis, was acknowledging the ‘chronic inconsistency in the delivery of our key educational programmes ‘ and expressing his concern that policies aimed at tackling deprivation in Wales have been ineffective.
“What the Deputy Minister for Tackling Poverty is saying today about the actions of the Welsh Government is in direct contrast to the Education Minister and the statistics: if Labour’s policies are so effective, as he claims, why are we doing so badly?
“Whilst the Flying Start programme can ease the situation for eligible families, it operates in designated “disadvantaged” areas, and therefore excludes children experiencing disadvantage who live outside those areas.
“The Pupil Deprivation Grant, a Welsh Liberal Democrat initiative for pupils in receipt of free school meals based on the Pupil Premium in England, has been operating in Wales for two years, but the amount per pupil in Wales (£450) was half that of the English counterpart until we recently negotiated an increase to £918. In England, the amount has increased to £1300 per eligible pupil.
“That additional funding can help make the difference to a young person’s future, and it recognises the need for action and investment to counter the effects of poverty and disadvantage.”
