Poverty and the cost of living

The Programme for Government 2026 to 2030 belongs to the Seventh Senedd. Choose the Seventh Senedd to see how often each commitment has come up.

Source: Welsh Government, Programme for government 2026 to 2030: New ambition for Wales, first published on 10 September 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Mentions are found by matching the names of plans, bodies and schemes; a mention says nothing about progress.

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• 67% of Welsh adults said the cost of living would be very important to their vote.
• 40% of Welsh adults said poverty and inequality would be very important to their vote.
• 32% of Welsh adults said welfare and benefits would be very important to their vote.

Ipsos asked 747 Welsh adults aged 16+ between 2 April 2026 and 8 April 2026, before the 2026 Senedd election. People could choose as many issues as they liked. More on public opinion.

No written questions on this brief in the Sixth Senedd yet.

No petitions on this brief opened in the Sixth Senedd.

No committee sessions on this brief in the Sixth Senedd yet.

10 contributions in the Sixth Senedd, newest first.

1. Sioned WilliamsPlaid

   16 October 2024, Plenary

   Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Trefnydd and Chief Whip

   …of people at risk of hunger and hardship in Wales by 25,000. It also recommends emulating the Scottish child payment. Trussell say that the discretionary assistance fund, although valuable in a crisis, isn't sufficient to stop families going without food. Do you agree with Trussell that the UK…

   Tagged for: “child payment”Official Record

2. Samuel KurtzConservative

   18 September 2024, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee

   The Foundational Economy - Panel 1

   Okay, thank you. I'm conscious of time, so I've got a question specifically for Harry here in terms of the Cynnal Cymru-developed community of practice in 2020, as part of Welsh Government's foundational economy challenge fund. I was just wondering what are the key learnings from this and how…

   Tagged for: “Cynnal”Official Record

3. Harry Thompson

   18 September 2024, Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee

   The Foundational Economy - Panel 1

   Hi, I'm Harry Thompson, head of fair economy at Cynnal Cymru.

   Tagged for: “Cynnal”Official Record

4. Lesley GriffithsLabour

   17 June 2024, Equality and Social Justice Committee

   General scrutiny of the Cabinet Secretary for Culture and Social Justice

   Yes, that is something we're looking at. I've also asked if we can explore within our budget to see if the child payment is possible. So, that, as Claire said, it is an ongoing piece of work with our Scottish counterparts.

   Tagged for: “child payment”Official Record

5. Sarah MurphyLabour

   11 June 2024, Plenary

   Statement by the Minister for Social Partnership: The retail sector—Contributing to Wales's economic mission

   …work in the retail sector have access to fair, safe and secure work. Welsh Government is working with Cynnal Cymru, the living wage foundation accreditation partner in Wales, to better understand the barriers facing businesses in terms of real living wage adoption and accreditation. We will use the…

   Tagged for: “Cynnal”Official Record

6. Jane Malcolm

   29 April 2024, Equality and Social Justice Committee

   Childcare follow-up inquiry: evidence session 3

   …Edinburgh, Glasgow, it's probably been more successful. Obviously, the Scottish Government have the child payment as well, which adds to that and supports that, but, yes, I think it's a real mixed picture across Scotland.

   Tagged for: “child payment”Official Record

7. Vaughan GethingLabour

   16 April 2024, Plenary

   Statement by the First Minister: Delivering Wales's priorities

   I think the example of the child payment in Scotland is a good example of not just powers but actually the different budget to be able to do so. It is something that we are interested in—the sort of difference it could make for children and young people here in Wales. It's why we do need a better…

   Tagged for: “child payment”Official Record

8. Sioned WilliamsPlaid

   16 April 2024, Plenary

   Statement by the First Minister: Delivering Wales's priorities

   …although there's no denying that creating benefits that are fit for purpose, such as the Scottish child payment, which has been transformative in tackling child poverty, could be done if we had the powers to do so in Wales. Welfare reform isn't enough, especially given Keir Starmer's refusal to…

   Tagged for: “child payment”Official Record

9. Sioned WilliamsPlaid

   20 February 2024, Plenary

   Statement by the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip: The Welsh Benefits System and Charter

   …is no denying that creating benefits that are fit for purpose, and have an impact, such as the Scotland child payment, has been transformative in tackling child poverty, for example. And work must begin on preparing the way to incorporate more grants and other means-tested benefits, and this ability…

   Tagged for: “child payment”Translated from WelshOfficial Record

10. Sioned WilliamsPlaid

    23 January 2024, Plenary

    Statement by the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip: The Child Poverty Strategy for Wales

    …of a cost-of-living payment to disabled families, as recommended by the expert group; nothing about a child payment or even preparatory work for instituting one, although the group and the committee had evidence of how that could be central to be making a real dent in those child poverty levels.…

    Tagged for: “child payment”Official Record

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