Child poverty ‘scandalous’ as one in three affected in Wales

More than one in five people in Wales are still living in poverty, according to the latest official figures, prompting renewed warnings from charities about deepening hardship and widening inequality.

New statistics show that 22% of people in Wales are in relative income poverty – unchanged from last year – underlining what campaigners say is a lack of meaningful progress.

The data also highlights stark disparities, with some groups disproportionately affected. Nearly half of people from minority ethnic backgrounds (48%) are living in poverty, alongside 45% of single-parent households and 50% of families with three or more children.

Children remain the most affected group. The latest figures show 32% of children in Wales are living in poverty, while a new measure indicates around one in 10 are experiencing deep material deprivation – the most severe form of hardship.

Oxfam Cymru said the figures show poverty is becoming more entrenched.

Hade Turkmen, acting head of the organisation, said: “These latest figures lay bare a reality we cannot accept. The persistence – and in far too many cases, deepening – of poverty in Cymru reflects not individual failure, but the failure of an economic model that does not prioritise care, dignity or collective wellbeing.

“With crises escalating across the world, we can expect those already struggling to be pushed even further into hardship. In this economic model, we know that when times are tough, it is always those with the least who pay the steepest price.”

The charity warned that while headline poverty rates have remained static, deeper forms of poverty are increasing, pulling more families into long-term hardship.

Oxfam is calling for structural changes, including a wealth tax on the UK’s richest households, arguing that rising inequality is the result of political choices rather than inevitability.

‘Scandalous’

Save the Children Cymru described the figures as “scandalous”, with more than one in three children in Wales affected – the highest rate of any UK nation.

Head of the organisation in Wales, Melanie Simmonds, said: “These figures reveal that far too many children in Wales – more than one in three – are still experiencing the injustice of child poverty.

“Securing hopeful childhoods for over 200,000 children is now in real jeopardy with many missing out on the basics every single day, costing children now and costing us all in the future.”

She said lifting the UK Government’s two-child benefit limit could help reduce poverty levels but warned further action would be needed, including additional financial support for families.

The Welsh Government said it was taking action through a range of policies and support programmes.

‘Prosper’

A spokesperson said: “We are doing everything within our power to tackle child poverty and are working with our partners towards a Wales where every child, young person and family can prosper. Our Child Poverty Strategy sets out how we are working across government and with partners to make a real difference to children’s lives.

“We’re providing free school meals for all primary pupils, offering up to 30 hours of funded early education and childcare to parents of three- and four-year-olds, and have invested over £7 billion between 2022 and 2026 to support households through programmes to alleviate financial pressures, help maximise income and to help keep more money in their pockets.

“We welcome the UK Government’s decision to remove the two-child limit, which will bring real relief to 69,000 children in Wales.”