Warning of Poverty Upsurge in Wales

Wales faces a significant increase in poverty from a mixture of welfare reform, problems in the economy, inflation and demographic changes, warned Bevan Foundation Director Victoria Winckler and Joseph Rowntree Foundation CEO Julia Unwin. Speaking at a jointly-organised Bevan Foundation and WCVA conference on 30th May 2012, both highlighted the inevitable growth in the number of individuals and households facing very hard times.

Welsh Government Minister Carl Sargeant said that the ‘Tackling Poverty Action Plan’ due out at the end of June would include measures to address poverty.

Speaking later in the day, Tony Greenham of the New Economics Foundation argued that a radically different approach to tackling poverty was needed, which sought to re-invigorate local economies by focusing on and retaining their assets.  Workshop sessions highlighted a number of different approaches that could be taken to tackle poverty, ranging from examples of help for individuals offered by Buttle UK and the Trussell Trust, to help for communities to meet their needs collectively through community energy provision (Llangattock Green Valleys and food coops (rural regeneration unit). The workshops also explored ways of building individual resilience through financial capability, with speakers from the Money Advice Service and Ceredigion Credit Union CredCer, and new ways of funding community facilities with Glyncoch Community Regeneration’s crowd-sourcing.

Speakers from Big Lottery, WEFO and SPICE looked at different types of funding, and the day rounded off with a lively panel of speakers from Oxfam, Age Alliance Wales and Community Housing Cymru.

Click here for the Hard Times programme.

Victoria Winckler’s speech can be accessed here – WCVA JRF edit.