Tackling Poverty Action Plan

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Support with the costs of livingWe will develop successor arrangements for the Social Fund as part ofthis network of support which will focus on sustainable solutions.Free School Meals are an important entitlement for children and theirfamilies. School meals, and particularly free school meals, are a meansof reducing health inequalities brought about by poor diet. Free schoolmeals provide those families that we have identified as being ingreatest need with additional support. School provides an idealenvironment to convey positive messages on healthy eating andsupport them through appropriate behaviours. The UK Government'sproposal to introduce Universal Credit from 2013 will mean the currentcriteria for identifying entitlement for free school meals will no longerexist. In order to continue the provision of free school meals, we willfind an alternative way of determining entitlement that aligns with theUniversal Credit system. We will be considering a range of potentialoptions for setting new criteria for free school meals and as part of thiswork the potential impact these changes may have on those currentlyin receipt of free school mealsWe will promote increased internet access for excluded groups. By2015 we aim to reduce levels of digital exclusion in Wales to peopleaged over 50 to 40%, Employed to 8%, Unemployed to 20%,Economically inactive to 40% and Residents of social housing to 30%. We will publish guidance to water companies in the summer 2012which will enable water companies to develop social tariffs during2013-14. We will also work with stakeholders to evaluate the help weprovide and identify gaps in provision and link with the wider adviceservices that the Welsh Government provides.We will report on the Number of Water company social tariffsdeveloped in accordance with the guidance; Number of social tariffsapproved by Ofwat; Number of households benefiting from socialtariffs; The level of water company debt has reduced; Customeracceptance of proposed social tariffs; The decrease in the levels ofpeople experiencing water affordability in Wales.We will announce in the near future which projects will secure fundingin the first round of the arbed phase 2 European RegionalDevelopment Fund Project. Phase 2 is a £45 million programme, partfunded by the Fund through the Welsh Government, that will improvethe energy efficiency of a minimum of 4,790 homes by the end of 2015.We will report on the number of households supported through ourNest and arbed programmes each year. We will monitor and evaluateour programmes to ensure resources are targeted in the most effectiveway and that we facilitate additional investment in Wales through UKwide programmes.23
Our environmental and sustainable development work will focus ondelivering an integrated package of support to communities wherethere is poverty, deprivation or need for regeneration. This place basedprogramme will be piloted in a small number of urban areas and willlater broaden to rural areas.We will develop and apply a screening tool that will enable us toassess the socio-economic impact of transport policy and investmentoptions and enable us to make policy and investment choices that willcontribute to tackling poverty.Future Safe Routes in Communities schemes will be assessedaccording to how they contribute to tackling poverty. This requirementwill be included in our updated guidance for the scheme which will beissued by end Summer 2012.Building community resilience<strong>Poverty</strong> is often linked to disability, as disabled people face both higherliving costs and additional barriers to employment. The JosephRowntree Foundation (2011) has found that a third of low-income,working-age adults without dependent children are either disabledthemselves, and/or have a disabled partner. Among those withdependent children, this proportion is a quarter. For all people ofworking age (and their dependent children), a disabled adult familymember increases the risk of low income by about a half.We will tackle barriers and support disabled people so that they canlive independently, and exercise choice and control in their daily lives.The Welsh Government is working with disabled people’s organisationsand other partners to develop a Framework for <strong>Action</strong> on IndependentLiving to be completed by Summer 2012.From this year, there will be a new approach to Regeneration. Theconsideration of areas which suffer from high levels of poverty will begiven greater weight in future investment decisions. We will integrateour regeneration activity with our Communities First Programme. Thiswill allow our regeneration activity to align with the priorities of our mostdeprived areas and support those people most in need.In health, we will aim to reverse the so-called ‘inverse care law’ that isthe tendency for the best services to be provided for those people inthe least need. Core aspects will be improved: management of chronicconditions and in particular mental health issues. The CommunitiesFirst programme will be a key partner with the NHS.We are making an additional £16 million available this year to helpprovide more homes for those who need them.24
Page 1 and 2: Tackling PovertyAction Plan2012-201
Page 3 and 4: ContentsPageForeword 1Introduction
Page 5 and 6: Given that many of the factors that
Page 7 and 8: Section 1: Preventing poverty and m
Page 9 and 10: Early support for children and fami
Page 11 and 12: for patients with mental health iss
Page 13 and 14: increase the reach and impact of ma
Page 15 and 16: undertake a more detailed analysis
Page 17 and 18: government, the third sector, the W
Page 19 and 20: to reach groups back into work. We
Page 21 and 22: Section 3: Action to mitigate the i
Page 23 and 24: The Community Food Co-operative Pro
Page 25: Our flagship Supporting People Prog
Page 29: We will work through existing fora

Tackling Poverty Action Plan

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?