Following the launch of the Welsh Labour Government’s new £100,000 pilot scheme which aims to support low income families during the holidays, Janet Finch-Saunders, Shadow Minister for Social Care, Children, and Young People, has hit out at the Deputy Minister for Health and Social Services for the scandalous fact that the funding will not help families and children in 9 local authorities.
Local authority areas NOT receiving funding as part of the new Holiday Hunger Playworks Pilot:
Anglesey
Gwynedd
Denbighshire
Powys
Monmouthshire
Caerphilly
Neath Port Talbot
Newport
Carmarthenshire
Commenting on the new scheme, Janet said:
“It is scandalous that the Welsh Government has not recognised that low income families in 9 of Wales’ 22 local authority areas are in need of extra support.
“Families in over 40% of the council areas of Wales are being excluded from this new scheme.
“What makes this policy even worse is that the money is blocked from some of the areas with the highest rate of child poverty, such as Rhyl, Llanelli, Newport, and Newtown.
“Clearly, this policy will fail many children and therefore not achieve its aim of redressing the imbalance of food availability, health inequality and social isolation in Wales.
“The Deputy Minister has made a major mistake. Rather than being local authority focused, her strategy to tackle holiday hunger should have been to help those families with the greatest need”.
ENDS
Notes:
New pilot to tackle food poverty during school holidays
Child poverty: Wales is the only UK nation to see increase
