Nearly two in five Welsh children living in low-income households

Mark Mansfield

Around 212,000 children in Wales were living in low-income households in March 2024, according to new analysis published by the Welsh Government.

The figure represents 39% of children aged under 16, compared with 25% of the population as a whole.

Children are counted as living in “income deprivation” if an adult they depend on receives income-related benefits or tax credits, or support for asylum seekers.

The findings, drawn from the Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation (WIMD) 2025, show substantial differences between communities.

Blaenau Gwent had the highest proportion of children living in income deprivation at 49%, while Monmouthshire had the lowest at 24%.

Across Wales’ most deprived tenth of areas, around 74% of children were living in income deprivation. Even in the least deprived tenth, the figure was 11%.

Cardiff, Swansea and Newport showed the greatest variation between neighbourhoods within the same local authority.

The report cautions that changes to the methodology, benefit coverage and eligibility rules mean the figures cannot be directly compared with WIMD 2019.

Child payment

The Welsh Government is developing Cynnal, a pilot scheme that would give families on low incomes a weekly payment for young children in selected local authority areas.

It is seeking assurances from the Department for Work and Pensions and HM Revenue and Customs that the payment will not reduce families’ entitlement to other benefits.

Deputy First Minister Sioned Williams, who is also Cabinet Minister for Social Justice and Equalities, said: “The analysis published today further strengthens the case and highlights the urgency for rapid and radical action to tackle child poverty.

“A key intervention is our Cynnal pilot, and I call on the UK Government to give us the tools now to deliver this effectively. There is no time to waste.”

The Welsh Government says it has also accelerated the first phase of its funded childcare expansion for two-year-olds and extended free school meal eligibility in secondary schools, alongside the universal provision already available in primary schools.

It is developing a new Child Poverty Strategy with targets and measures to track progress.

Ms Williams said: “We are clear that tackling poverty is a moral imperative that we are putting at the heart of Government. We are determined to take action to help those in poverty but to also prevent people falling into poverty in the first place.”

School attendance 

The analysis also found links between deprivation, school attendance, educational attainment and low birth weight.

In the most deprived tenth of areas, 41% of primary pupils and 53% of secondary pupils were persistently absent, compared with 13% and 22% respectively in the least deprived tenth.

Persistent absence means missing at least 10% of school sessions. The figures cover the 2022/23 and 2023/24 academic years.

Across Wales, the rates were 27% for primary pupils and 39% for secondary pupils.

There were wide differences between individual neighbourhoods. Persistent absence among secondary pupils ranged from 7% in Radyr 2, Cardiff, to 74% in Cwm Clydach 1, Rhondda Cynon Taf.

Average Year 11 points scores in core subjects ranged from around 96 in the most deprived areas to around 135 in the least deprived. The measure covers GCSE English or Welsh first language, mathematics and science, or equivalent qualifications.

Low birth weight rates were also higher in the most deprived communities, at 7.4%, compared with 3.4% in the least deprived.

Those figures cover single live births between 2015 and 2024 where babies weighed less than 2.5kg. The Wales average was 5.3%, equivalent to around 1,500 babies a year.

The report notes that low birth weight is associated with several factors, including maternal health and pregnancy-related circumstances, as well as deprivation.

Rural areas

Child income deprivation was generally higher in urban areas, affecting 41% of children, compared with 37% in larger rural settlements and 27% in smaller rural settlements.

Rural communities, however, faced poorer access to schools and childcare.

Ceredigion had the highest proportion of small areas ranked among Wales’ worst tenth for access to primary schools, at 47%, and childcare providers, at 44%.

Powys had the highest proportion for access to secondary schools, at 35%.

The report says access to these services can affect children’s education and development, as well as parents’ ability to work, study or undertake training.

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