By electing a Plaid Cymru government able to forge a strong relationship with an SNP Scottish government, we can make our nations' voices heard in Westminster and demand that Wales gets parity of funding and powers with Scotland as the first step towards taking our future into our own hands.
It's crucial the government gets the child poverty strategy right. This is a landmark opportunity to set a truly transformative agenda for long-term change, but in an increasingly challenging economic climate there is every reason to worry warm words will not translate into tangible progress. Targets will provide much-needed benchmarks to track progress and keep driving action forward. The government's reticence so far has left us worried they're looking to dodge this vital layer of scrutiny.
The Bridge Project, which already runs similar programs in New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts, said the goal is to give children more stability and take some financial pressure off new parents. It comes amid a crushing affordability crisis that's squeezing parents of young children who are struggling with child care and food costs, and as federal cuts threaten to strip benefits from many low-income households.
Campaigners need to change the way they talk about child poverty to counter far-right narratives and harness public energy for action, charities have warned. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Save the Children will on Wednesday launch a practical guide for campaigners, saying that although the third sector, politicians and the media talk frequently about the urgency of tackling child poverty, bolstered with alarming facts, the way we talk about it doesn't always help.
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Tánaiste says there may be 'degree of price gouging' by energy firms as bills increase again Extra €7 per week in budget to cover household power bills and payment eligibility widened Working Family Payment hike among social welfare measures used to tackle child poverty The Fuel Allowance will go up by about €200 in the budget to help ­pensioners and people with disabilities to cope with rising energy costs, after Tánaiste Simon Harris said energy companies may be "gouging" customers.
Simon Harris said there are no coalition tensions over varying the rate of increases for jobseekers and pensioners Jobseekers allowance should not increase at the same rate as other social welfare payments, Tánaiste Simon Harris has said, who added that he does not detect tension within Government on social welfare increases. Senior Government figures have signalled the end of one-off cost-of-living reliefs in next month's Budget on October 7. Instead, they've promised an increased focus on infrastructure and addressing child poverty.
Adas Rakauskas, 37, never forgot the present he received as an eight-year-old as his family was struggling financially and getting food to the table. Now the Co Louth-based dad has started making the "transformative" gifts for other children. Originally from Lithuania, Mr Rakauskas is also urging the entire country to join Team Hope's annual Christmas Shoebox Appeal by sending life-changing gifts to children affected by poverty around the world.
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald raised the heartbreaking case of nine-year-old Harvey Morrison Sherratt, who died in July. "He was failed by the Government. Harvey's case is not an isolated case. Such failures are shamefully a hallmark of your Government," she told Taoiseach Micheál Martin. Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns also raised the case, slating the Government for painfully slow progress on the issue of disability. "Sixteen thousand children are overdue an assessment of need, essential therapies are non-existent and hundreds of children left in agony waiting for spinal surgery," she said.
More than 225,000 children are living in poverty when housing costs are accounted for, similar to the levels of child poverty seen during the financial crisis, new research has shown.
A cross-party commission including former welfare ministers is urging the government to scrap the two-child benefit limit as part of an ambitious once in a generation plan to lift millions of people out of poverty. The Poverty Strategy Commission said billions of pounds of investment including a boost to the rate of universal credit was needed to reverse record levels of poverty in the UK, and tackle longstanding failures over rising hardship and destitution.
A London charity that runs a uniform swap, foodbank and shop became a barbershop for the first time. The Romford hub of S.M.I.L.E. London and Essex invited children from deprived backgrounds to have free haircuts so they feel confident when they return to school. The charity says it provides support to families facing poverty, homelessness and hardship across London and Essex.
Reeves said: I got into politics to help children facing the toughest challenges. This fund will give hundreds of thousands of children, young people and their families a better chance. For too long, these children have been overlooked.
Despite tighter budget constraints, the government aims for a €12 weekly pension increase by Budget 2026, reflecting commitments despite potential income tax cuts being reconsidered.
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