The Chair of the Equalities, Local Government and Communities Committee, John Griffiths AM, has released the following statement in response to the Welsh Government announcement on Communities First:
“The Cabinet Secretary’s announcement of the phasing out of Communities First brings to an end one of the Welsh Government’s flagship schemes for tackling poverty in Wales.
“The programme focused on 52 of Wales’s most disadvantaged areas with the objective of providing people with the skills they need to find work, promoting health and education and raising living standards.
“The Committee intends on having a major focus on tackling poverty and inequality in Wales. This will include leading on significant reviews of existing policy in place and examining evidence based interventions to tackling underlying issues of inequality in our society.
“We will be inviting the Cabinet Secretary to provide further information to the Committee at the earliest opportunity to update us on Communities First and Welsh Government plans for tackling poverty.”