‘Expert group’ set up as government presses ahead with child payment plans

Ella Groves – ICNN Senedd Reporter

An “expert group” has been set up as the Welsh Government looks to pilot its proposed child payment.

Wales’ Deputy First Minister faced questions on Cynnal – a Plaid Cymru manifesto pledge to deliver a £10 payment to to low income households.

Sioned Williams said the group will support the “design, delivery, monitoring, and evaluation of the Cynnal pilot” – which could benefit up to 15,000 children aged six and below.

Answering a question from Plaid Cymru colleague Elyn Stephens, Ms Williams said the group brings together “expertise from across the sector” to ensure the scheme is “evidence-led, is robustly evaluated, and is grounded in the realities of families’ lives.”

Drawing on experiences from her own constituency of Afan Ogwr Rhondda, Ms Stephens noted the “real difference” the Cynnal payment could make to families facing the “sharpest end of child poverty”.

However, she said potential recipients need clarity that the support will reach them directly.

She said: “We know there are clear precedents for additional payments being disregarded within the benefits system, including the Scottish child payment and local welfare provision.

“But the Welsh NHS and social care bonus show that without Department for Work and Pensions protection, the value of a government payment can be reduced through the Universal Credit system as it’s then classed as earnings.”

Ms Stephens said the Cynnal payment needs to be “simple to access and protected in full”.

Ms Williams confirmed negotiations have begun with the UK Government to look at the links between benefits, taxation, and the Cynnal payment.

She said: “I’ve already started discussing this with Andrew Western MP, the minister for transformation, and further meetings are in the diary.”

Reform’s Gareth Thomas asked Ms Williams how many families in his constituency of Pen-y-Bont Bro Morgannwg are expected to benefit from the payment, and whether his area will be included in the original rollout.

He also pushed for the Welsh Government to publish local figures so MSs can assess “whether Cynnal is delivering real benefits for families and value for public money”.

In response, Ms Williams said: “The task of the expert group will be to ensure that we plan this payment carefully. It is a pilot programme, so it won’t reach every family in need in Wales, because that’s the nature of a pilot, clearly.”

She continued: “We need to think how we can assess how this child payment can support families in the best way possible, and then build those strong foundations of robust evidence in order to steer future decisions.”

Labour’s Jane Bryant emphasised the importance of working with both the UK Government and local authorities in Wales on the scheme’s rollout.

She asked when the child payments will start, and urged the minister to ensure it will not affect families’ eligibility for other financial support.

On the involvement of local authorities, Ms Williams said: “We know we have key partners in this work as regards delivery and interaction with other Welsh benefits.

“So that is, again, what will be completely under the consideration of the expert steering group which will be meeting next week.”

Child Sexual Abuse

Ms Williams was also pushed to provide an update on the Welsh Government’s work in preventing and responding to child sexual abuse.

It followed a debate on trauma and adverse childhood experiences on 2 July, where Plaid Cymru’s Beca Brown told the Senedd that an estimated 25,000 children and young people are sexually abused in Wales each year.

Labour’s spokesperson for equalities, Shav Taj, highlighted Wales becoming the first UK nation to publish a ten-year strategy to prevent child sexual abuse under her party’s previous government.

She also referenced the Hwb platform, which is funded by the Welsh Government, but noted that hosting resources on a website can become a “bit of a passive strategy” without “ring-fenced funding”.

The Labour spokesperson said: “You can’t always expect exhausted teachers to log on and become equipped to battle a lot of the global sophisticated AI deepfake networks and the sextortion etc, and the rings that currently exist.

“We do really need to consider ring-fencing some funding there for specialist training, and also with a central cross-sector entity to co-ordinate this further”.

Responding Ms Williams said: “Our vision as a government is that all children in Wales live free from sexual abuse and that those affected receive the protection and support they need. The strategy, as you know, focuses on four priorities: prevention obviously, as well as effective protection, and response and support for children and families.”

She told her Senedd colleagues her government is working with partners such as the Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse and the NSPCC to “strengthen that prevention and early intervention piece”.

Welsh Conservative leader Darren Millar asked Ms Williams how she plans to address the issue of grooming gangs in Wales.

Mr Millar said: “No society should tolerate child sexual exploitation in any way, shape or form, but unfortunately, cabinet minister, we do know that grooming gangs have been operating in Wales.

“We know that from victims, brave victims who’ve come forward, victims who often have been blamed for inviting abuse and being complicit in it.

“We know from the work of previous inquiries and independent investigations that Swansea, Rhyl and some places in mid Wales have been cited in evidence, and that people have been trafficked from Wales to other parts of the United Kingdom.”

Yet, Mr Millar told the Siambr, the England and Wales grooming gang inquiry, which is now underway, has not identified a “single location in Wales” for a local investigation.

The Tory leader also asked Ms Williams to commit to a Wales-wide grooming gang inquiry if needed.

Noting that the previous Welsh Government “sought assurances” from the then Home Secretary over Wales’ full involvement in the grooming gangs inquiry, Ms Williams confirmed the current Welsh Government has “consulted on the terms of reference for the inquiry to ensure the unique Welsh context is captured”.

She told Mr Millar her officials have been meeting monthly with the inquiry team and have been assured that Welsh survivors will be able to contribute fully.

However, Ms Williams also noted that, as set out in the Plaid Cymru manifesto, if her government believes further action is required, further action will be taken.