Select committee: Welsh Affairs Committee

Working towards ending child poverty in Wales

Open Opened 16 Mar 2026
Inquiry scope (the committee's words)
The rate of child poverty in Wales has changed very little over the past two decades, with around a third of Welsh children living in poverty during that time. Currently, 31% of children in Wales live in relative income poverty after housing costs. However, that figure also varies significantly depending on a family's circumstances, with larger families, lone parent families and families with at least one disabled adult or child experiencing higher rates of child poverty. Relative low income (after housing costs) is a widely used measure of child poverty, and is based on how much income each household has after deducting taxes paid and their housing costs. It is adjusted for the number and ages of people in the household to account for different levels of need across households. This inquiry seeks to understand how the UK and Welsh governments work together towards ending child poverty, and examine what barriers might prevent Wales from realising the ambitions set out in the UK Government's child poverty strategy. Read the call for evidence for more details about the inquiry.

Where it stands

The inquiry is open, opened 16 March 2026.

The committee has not published a report yet.

Oral evidence sessions

1 session

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Date Session and witnesses Source
21 Oct 2026
Oral evidence session
Laurie Ryall · Action for Children, Mabli Jones · Bevan Foundation, Sarah Crawley · Barnardo’s, Tom Wernham · The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS)
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Who gave evidence

4 witnesses

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WitnessOrganisationSessions
Laurie Ryall · National Director for Wales Action for Children 1
Mabli Jones · Head of Policy (Poverty) Bevan Foundation 1
Sarah Crawley · Director of Children's Services for Cymru and UK Programmes Barnardo’s 1
Tom Wernham · Senior Research Economist The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) 1

Correspondence

2 letters

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