Child poverty: final report of the income maximisation action plan

This report summarises what was done to help maximise the income of families living in poverty between 2020 and 2021.

Ministerial foreword

The Welsh Government has always put children and children’s rights at the heart of everything it does.

The coronavirus pandemic has had a profound impact on our economy, our society and our communities. It has exposed and worsened existing inequalities with some of the most vulnerable in society being the hardest hit.

Never has there been a more important time to do all that we practically can to mitigate the impacts of poverty. Our most recent data shows us that 31% of children are living in relative income poverty (after housing costs).

During the last Senedd term, the First Minister made a commitment to re-engineer existing funded programmes to ensure they have the maximum impact on the lives of children living in poverty. This led to the development of the Child Poverty: Income Maximisation Action Plan (IMAP).

The IMAP contained a set of practical actions that would help maximise the incomes of families living in poverty in Wales and support them to build their financial resilience.

The impact of this Plan is being assessed so that the lessons learnt will help inform future work, ensuring we continue to take the most effective actions to tackle poverty in Wales.

We will continue to be bold, ambitious and progressive in our pursuit of a Wales free of child poverty.

Jane Hutt MS, Minister for Social Justice