Child poverty: Could Wales cut rates by copying Scotland?

Introducing a weekly child payment system for poor families would be "transformational", according to Wales' children's commissioner.

Rocio Cifuentes said she hoped ministers would consider adopting the Scottish Child Payment which gives £25-a-week to every child in poverty.

An expert at Oxford University said the Scottish system has had a substantial effect on child poverty.

The Welsh government said it had no control over social security in Wales.

It currently offers £3.3bn of support for families, including free school meals, support with school costs and the pupil development grant, it said.

But those benefits and financial support packages "are all separate and very hard to access and are not currently offered as a coherent package of support" Ms Cifuentes said.

She told BBC Politics Wales the Welsh government should give "serious consideration" to seeking the powers over benefits to bring in a 'Welsh child payment' system of £35 each week for children up to the age of 16.

In the meantime, she has called for cost of living payments to be issued to all low income families going into this winter amid the cost of living crisis.

"This is an urgent critical situation affecting around a third of children and families living in Wales," she said.

"These families and these children need urgent support and I'm really worried about the months ahead."

In Scotland, children up to the age of 16 are entitled to £25 each week, regardless of how many children in a family, worth £1,300 per child annually.

Introduced in 2021, it's claimed by 300,000 families receiving Universal Credit.

But other benefits are not affected by the child payment.

Chris Birt, associate director at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation in Scotland, said families told the social change charity "it allows us to put the heating on in October".

"But anyone who's got kids will understand kids want to be out with their pals, they want to be involved in activities around the schools," he said.

"The Scottish Child Payment will also say to parents 'well you do have that extra few quid this week for your child to be able to go out with their pals on Saturday'… and so it makes a real practical difference."

Prof Danny Dorling, of Oxford University, said the Scottish payment was the most significant attempt to tackle child poverty seen anywhere in Europe since the fall of the Berlin Wall.

"It is clearly the most direct way to help people," he said.

"The parents of children, and especially their mothers, are the people who have their interests most at heart," he said.

"So any talk that says that some other method is better is going against all the evidence that we've collected for decades.

"You have to hand money directly to the families of those who are poorest. They use it most wisely."

The Scottish Child Payment cost £428m in the current financial year out of a Scottish budget of nearly £60bn.

Scotland has its own benefits system making it easier to target families who need it whereas Wales does not.

The Welsh government said: "Unlike Scotland, the Welsh government does not have the legislative powers to enable us to make a payment similar to the Scottish Child Payment, as powers over social security remain with the UK government.

"We have repeatedly called on the UK government over the last 13 years to do more to live up to their responsibilities and support families on lower incomes in Wales.

"We continue to do all we can to support people through the cost-of-living crisis by providing targeted help to those who need it most. During 2022-23 and 2023-24 this support is worth more than £3.3bn."

But Prof Dorling said it could be brought in in Wales, perhaps paid via councils, if ministers wanted to do so.

He said: "In Scotland in began with only £10 a week and only for children under the age of six, and if it were to happen in Wales, I would expect it would begin, first of all with that. It's really not a question of money."

Welsh Conservative social justice spokesman Mark Isherwood said: "It is important to review and examine any new evidence that is presented to help end child poverty.

"And until the evidence is appropriately scrutinised, we cannot say whether the additional £25 payment would be beneficial or not.

"Since devolution the Labour government have thrown billions of pounds into eradicating child poverty yet the parts of Wales with the highest child poverty before devolution continue to have the highest levels of child poverty today."

Plaid Cymru spokeswoman for social justice and equalities, Sioned Williams, said: "Plaid Cymru is fully supportive of a child payment system, like the approach taken in Scotland, as this is proven to be effective in lowering child poverty rates.

"One in three children in Wales are living in poverty.

"Tackling this injustice is fundamental to the type of Wales that Plaid Cymru wants to see, where the harms of poverty are eradicated."