Almost a third of children in Wales are living in poverty, with the majority in families receiving income-related benefits

New report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation warns that, without continued support from furlough schemes and temporary benefit increases, it is clear that poverty will increase

Almost a third of children in Wales are living in poverty, with the majority living in families receiving income-related benefits, according to new research from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF).

In Poverty in Wales 2020, the JRF looks at what has happened to poverty before and during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak by analysing poverty data on the impact of social security and housing on poverty and on the prevalence of in-work poverty.

In relation to social security and poverty, the report's findings include that -

• even before the pandemic, almost a quarter of people in Wales (700,000) were in poverty, while the risk was much higher for children with one in three (180,000) in poverty;
• more than seven in ten children in poverty (140,000) live in families that receive income-related benefits;
• by August 2020, around one in ten of the adult population was claiming universal credit (270,000), almost doubling from the start of the year;
• there has been a significant increase in the number of Discretionary Assistance Fund awards made, with the majority being a result of the impact of coronavirus; and
• although local housing allowance rates have been increased to the 30th percentile of rents, this has still left claimants in some areas of Wales facing an average weekly shortfall of £25 per week.

In light of its findings, the JRF warns that, while measures introduced by the Welsh and Westminster Governments to support workers, tenants and low-income households have been ‘bold and compassionate’, they do not go far enough to prevent future poverty increasing for many in Wales -

‘… too many of these are temporary. What is clear is that much depends on decisions at Westminster: in a world where both the furlough schemes and temporary benefit increases are withdrawn, poverty will be higher.’

As a result, the JRF recommends measures to target in-work poverty, to provide greater support for low-income tenants and, in relation to social security, calls for -

• the UK Government to keep the £20 uplift to universal credit and working tax credit while also extending it to families on legacy benefits; and
• the Welsh Government to adopt the recommendations proposed by the Bevan Foundation to create a ‘Welsh benefits system’ that brings together existing devolved grants and allowances to offer cash or in-kind services that complement the UK social security system.

For more information, see Poverty in Wales 2020 from jrf.org.uk