Payments for poor children promised by Plaid Cymru

Some of the poorest parents in Wales could receive extra cash under a Plaid Cymru-led Welsh government, its party leader has said.

Rhun ap Iorwerth told his party's spring conference in Llandudno he intended to introduce a payment scheme to tackle the "national stain" of child poverty.

BBC Wales understands the party is looking at a £10m pilot scheme, which would see £10 a week for 15,000 children between zero and six whose parents already receive universal credit (UC).

It would be along the lines of a scheme run in Scotland, which was initially piloted at £10 a week and is now £26.70 a week.

The Cynnal payment - Welsh for maintain - is part of Plaid's pitch for the next Senedd election, which is taking place in May 2026.

In a wide-ranging speech, ap Iorwerth likened Nigel Farage to Donald Trump and said his Reform party was so "unserious about winning they don't even have a leader in Wales".

Ap Iorwerth told party members in Venue Cymru that child poverty "remains a national stain an indelible mark on communities".

"It's unforgivable that so many of our children go without the basics – not even afforded the decency of good health and the bare essentials, let alone an equal chance to succeed," he said.

"After 14 years of austerity under the Tories and 26 years of ambivalence under Labour – this would be a new government rooted in the values of fairness and social justice.

"The Cynnal payment, as it'll be known, will do exactly that - it will sustain families and support communities."

The children's commissioner for Wales said about 30% of children in Wales were living in poverty.

Labour ministers have been criticised for not having targets to tackle the problem – they argued it was difficult to implement them when they do not have powers over benefits.

Plaid sources say such a scheme can be implemented within existing powers – using the same legal mechanism that allowed the now-concluded basic income pilot for care leavers.

Details are to be ironed out, but the BBC was told the pilot would be limited, possibly around geographic lines.

Plaid claimed it would cost £78m a year to run the scheme nationally, but it would focus on helping 15,000 children initially – roughly 10% of children living in households claiming UC, according to a party source.

The pilot would cost £10m a year, Plaid sources say.

Plaid Cymru would need to be in government to implement a pilot. The new electoral system makes it much more likely that whoever wins the next election in May 2026 will need to form a coalition of some kind.

Ap Iorwerth told BBC Wales: "There's only place in Britain where child poverty is starting to go down. It's Scotland – they've done this."

He said the policy is affordable. "To what extent can any country afford not to deal with a problem as deep as this?"

Ap Iorwerth's speech took aim at Reform UK, which is hoping to win its first seats in the Senedd next year.

Likening its party leader to the new administration in the US, he said: "Trump, Musk and Farage and their followers seek to profit from the currency of fear and hate."

"Beware these men whose only real ideology is their ego," he said.

He accused Reform of having "no plan, no vision - other than letting private profiteering infect our NHS".

Ap Iorwerth claimed Labour's policy cupboard was "bare", and accused First Minister Eluned Morgan of not wanting powers "that could make a difference to people's lives".

He suggested Plaid Cymru's pro-independence stance could be used as "leverage" to gain more concessions from the UK government.

"We have a Labour first minister blinded by party loyalty, too afraid to rock the boat, pandering to [Prime Minister Sir Keir] Starmer".

The Ynys Môn MS added: "When Wales speaks with a Plaid Cymru first minister at the helm, they'll need more than platitudes to silence us."

By Gareth Lewis, BBC Wales political editor

Simplified, Rhun ap Iorwerth's pitch is that Wales would be better off under a Plaid-led government. Would you expect him to say anything else?

How he would achieve better results than Welsh Labour on things like HS2 funding and Crown Estate is less clear.

His promise to keep making the case is - in effect - to promise to shout more loudly and more frequently. Using the leverage of Welsh independence to get what he wants is not backed up at the moment by polling.

But Plaid feel they are on to something by offering "hope" and today's child payment proposals as part of their package to woo Labour voters disillusioned at the way their party is going.

It's also clear where ap Iorwerth sees the challenge next May: he criticised the FM, he attacked Nigel Farage, he mentioned Kemi Badenoch and Margaret Thatcher - but he did not once mention the Senedd's Welsh Conservative leader Darren Millar in his speech.