Mark Mansfield
Plaid Cymru has called on the UK Government to give Wales’ proposed £10-a-week child payment the “green light”, after a minister failed to confirm whether families would receive it without deductions from their benefits.
Ann Davies MP asked Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden in the Commons whether payments under the Welsh Government’s planned Cynnal pilot would be disregarded when calculating benefits.
Mr McFadden referred to the UK Government’s abolition of the two-child benefit limit and its wider child poverty strategy, without answering the question about Cynnal.
The proposed pilot would provide £10 a week for 15,000 children aged under six in households receiving Universal Credit.
The Welsh Government needs assurances from the Department for Work and Pensions and HMRC that the payments would not be taxed or lead to reductions in other benefits.
Ms Davies, Plaid Cymru’s work and pensions spokesperson, told the Commons: “If we want to support young people into employment, we must address the barriers they face long before they enter the workplace.
“One of these is child poverty, which is why the Plaid Cymru Government will pilot the Cynnal payment.”
Mr McFadden said abolishing the two-child limit, alongside other measures in the UK Government’s child poverty strategy, was estimated to reduce child poverty by half a million by the end of the Parliament.
Speaking afterwards, Ms Davies said: “The Welsh Government is developing practical solutions to child poverty, but those efforts risk being undermined unless Labour ministers in Westminster play their part.”
She has tabled a written parliamentary question seeking clarification.
‘No time to waste’
Deputy First Minister Sioned Williams warned last week that there was “no time to waste” in securing the assurances needed to deliver the pilot.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said last month that he was willing to consider the proposal.
Speaking to BBC Wales on September 25, he said: “I’ll certainly ensure that there’s a proper discussion about the issue.”
He added: “I mean, I did things as mayor of Greater Manchester without there having to be any tax implications.
“So I’m not quite sure why that arises in this instance, but we will have a look at it for certain.”
Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation 2025 analysis published on October 7 found that around two in five children in Wales were living in income deprivation in 2024.
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