Tackling Poverty Action Plan

More documents

Recommendations

Info

IntroductionIn keeping with our commitment to long-term well being the key objectives ofour Tackling Poverty actions are:to prevent poverty, especially through investment in giving childrenthe best possible start in life. From conception through to earlyadulthood, our aim will be to reduce inequality at the earliest possiblestage and break the link between socio-economic disadvantage,educational under achievement and the impaired life chances that flowfrom these;recognising that the best route out of poverty is through employment,we will continue to help people to improve their skills and enhancethe relevance of their qualifications. We will also remove otherbarriers to employment – from practical barriers such as theaccessibility of transport and buildings to less tangible barriers such aspoverty of aspiration - helping people to move on to and up theemployment ladder;at the same time, we will increase action to mitigate the impact ofpoverty here and now. We recognise that for more and more people,even being in work will not guarantee that they can escape poverty.We can act to improve the quality of life of these communities, familiesand individuals.Action in these areas must be taken forward in ways which are mutuallyreinforcing. Good quality, affordable childcare should help children to reachimportant developmental milestones: at the same time it will createemployment for some and remove a barrier to employment for others. Early,targeted action to prevent young people from falling out of education, trainingor employment should benefit them directly but should also benefit the nextgeneration. Advice which helps people deal with debt, or get on-line, shouldbe a basis for enabling them to manage their finances sustainably and usenew skills to increase their engagement in work and society.For each of these three objectives, this plan gives examples of what theWelsh Government has put in place previously, illustrating a long standing“track record” of commitment to social justice and equality; what thisGovernment is already doing to tackle poverty; and what we will now do inaddition, to place an even greater priority on action that will have a positiveimpact for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged.3
Section 1: Preventing poverty and making it less likelyover the longer-termThe early years are a critical time for children’s physical, cognitive, languageand social and emotional development. Research is also beginning to showthat what happens to children in the early years can have physiological effectsthat are lasting. Poverty begins to exert its effects from a young age; by age 5children from the most economically advantaged groups have been found tobe more than a year ahead in vocabulary tests compared to those fromdisadvantaged backgrounds.If we are to make a difference in the longer term outcomes for children andfamilies in poverty, we must offer support earlier and sustain that support untilfamilies become resilient and self-sufficient. Low income and debt makesfamily life more difficult and it becomes harder to manage stressful events.Families in poverty require different levels of support. Families with complexproblems, for example substance misuse, need more intensive and acuteservices.Education has a fundamental role in helping to lift people out of poverty and inprotecting those at risk of poverty and disadvantage. There is a strong linkbetween poor educational attainment, low skills and poor health andwellbeing. As a Government we are committed to tackling poverty by raisingaspirations; improving standards in education; increasing skill levels andreducing inequalities in health and wellbeing.In addition to specific funding programmes and grants, such as thosementioned below, approaches that combine whole school improvement withspecific pupil-level interventions will be necessary to ensure that schoolsimprove overall and that attainment gaps narrow.Our track recordThe Welsh Government has based its approach to child poverty on therights of children and young people in accordance with the Rights ofChildren and Young Person’s (Wales) Measure 2011, recognising thattackling poverty is as much about improving children’s wellbeing as it isaddressing income poverty. The Children and Families (Wales)Measure 2010 placed duties on public bodies to ensure the right toplay and the right to participate for children and young people.The Welsh Government is committed to providing Free Breakfasts toall primary school age children in maintained schools in Wales. This isto help improve the health and concentration of pupils, and to assist inthe raising of standards of learning and attainment. This provision is ofparticular importance to children in poverty who are at particular risk oftheir ability to learn being adversely affected by inadequate nutrition.4
Page 1 and 2: Tackling PovertyAction Plan2012-201
Page 3 and 4: ContentsPageForeword 1Introduction
Page 5: Given that many of the factors that
Page 9 and 10: Early support for children and fami
Page 11 and 12: for patients with mental health iss
Page 13 and 14: increase the reach and impact of ma
Page 15 and 16: undertake a more detailed analysis
Page 17 and 18: government, the third sector, the W
Page 19 and 20: to reach groups back into work. We
Page 21 and 22: Section 3: Action to mitigate the i
Page 23 and 24: The Community Food Co-operative Pro
Page 25 and 26: Our flagship Supporting People Prog
Page 27 and 28: Our environmental and sustainable d
Page 29: We will work through existing fora

Tackling Poverty Action Plan

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?