Statistics published by the Welsh Government. Each chart covers the years since the 2016 Senedd election, or as far back as the figures go, and marks each election since.
Children in relative poverty
32%
The three years to 31 March 2025
United Kingdom
28%
A year earlier
30%(the three years to 31 March 2024)
Wales
United Kingdom
The share of children living in households with less than 60% of the UK median income after housing costs, averaged over three financial years.
From a household survey with a small sample in Wales, so figures are averaged over three years, and the publisher advises caution with changes from one year to the next, which are unlikely to be statistically significant. The publisher plans to revise the figures back to 2012-13 in March 2027.
The line breaks at the three years to 31 March 2023, where the publisher marks a break in the series.
6 commitments in the Welsh Government's Programme for Government 2026 to 2030 fall under this brief, in the Programme's own words. Under each is how often it has been raised in the Seventh Senedd.
Developing a Welsh welfare system
Improve the Welsh Benefits System to make support easier to access and fit for purpose.
Raised in 6 speeches. Most recently on 8 July 2026, by Natasha Asghar. Matched on: “Welsh benefits”, “Welsh benefits system”.
Press the UK government to devolve social security so that we can design and deliver made in Wales social protections that better reflect the needs and values of our people and communities.
Not raised in the Senedd in the Seventh Senedd so far.
Work with partners to develop and deliver a new plan to tackle child poverty, setting clear targets, benchmarks and milestones to drive ambitious, deliverable change.
Press the UK government to use the levers they have, including removing the benefit cap, increasing Local Housing Allowance, and introducing social tariffs to deliver real change for families living in poverty.
Raised in 5 speeches. Most recently on 8 July 2026, by Sioned Williams. Matched on: “social tariff”.
Expand access to free school meals in secondary schools, starting by ensuring that all students in Years 7‑11 from households claiming Universal Credit are able to claim a free school meal, with no income limit. We will align provision with the work on a new National Food Strategy.
Raised in 35 speeches, 1 written question and 1 petition. Most recently on 14 October 2026, by Carrie Harper. Matched on: “free school meals”.
Source: Welsh Government, Programme for government 2026 to 2030: New ambition for Wales, first published on 10 September 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Mentions are found by matching the names of plans, bodies and schemes; a mention says nothing about progress.
Key moments in the Senedd
Statements, debates and legislation in Plenary on this brief, newest first. Oral question sessions are counted in the contributions below.
Each bar is the share of that party's speeches and questions in the Seventh Senedd that touched this brief, so large and small parties can be compared. The upright line marks the chamber as a whole: 2.8%.
67% of Welsh adults said the cost of living would be very important to their vote.
40% of Welsh adults said poverty and inequality would be very important to their vote.
32% of Welsh adults said welfare and benefits would be very important to their vote.
Ipsos asked 747 Welsh adults aged 16+ between 2 April 2026 and 8 April 2026, before the 2026 Senedd election. People could choose as many issues as they liked. More on public opinion.
Written questions
11 written questions to the Welsh Government on this brief in the Seventh Senedd, 8 answered so far. The latest:
As with other parts of the UK, people across Wales have been hit by a living standards squeeze since the 2008 financial crisis, which has been exacerbated over recent years by cost of living pressures.
For some people, inequality means starting school already behind their peers, facing insecure work and lower pay in adulthood or struggling with poor health in later life.
Tagged for: “welfare reform”, “poverty”, “anti-poverty”Official Record
Month by month
0
0
0
52
58
May 2026JunJulAugSeptOct
Contributions tagged in each month of the Seventh Senedd. No sittings were held in August 2026.Show the numbers
Month
Contributions
May 2026
0
June 2026
0
July 2026
0
August 2026
No sittings
September 2026
52
October 2026
58
How this brief is put together
This brief follows the Programme commitments listed above and tags the record with the phrases below. Keyword matching can miss business that discusses the issue in other words, and can tag a passing mention.
Show the phrases it uses
A contribution is tagged when its English text contains one of these phrases. Capital letters don't matter, except in abbreviations, which must match exactly. It is also tagged when the title of the agenda item or question it was part of contains one, as long as the contribution is at least 30 words long. The brief is also tagged whenever one of its themes is.
