Deputy Minister for Children Huw Lewis today welcomed the publication of child poverty indicators which show how the Welsh Assembly Government is meeting its child poverty milestones and targets.
The update shows that clear progress has been made on 10 of the indicators, 12 show little or no change, three show a deterioration and seven do not have sufficient data to monitor progress.
Welcoming the statistics Huw Lewis said:
“Eradicating poverty and improving the life chances of our children is at the top of my list of priorities. I am pleased to see that there has been a clear improvement in 10 of the indicators for which we have sufficient data available to make an assessment.
“Clear improvements have been seen in a number of fields including adult learning qualifications, child care places, pupils achieving Key Stage 2 Core Subject Indicator, pupils leaving full time education with no approved qualification and families living in B&B accommodation.
“These statistics show that the actions we, and our partners, have been taking to tackle poverty are helping to improve the lives and opportunities of some of the most disadvantaged children and their families across Wales.
“However the statistics also show that there is more work to be done. Our revised Child Poverty Strategy will be published in the New Year and this will outline how we will build on the work already underway and develop new initiatives to improve the lives of children and young people living in poverty in Wales.”
