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LABOUR TACKLES INEQUALITY IN WALES

Secretary of State Peter Hain MP said today "Labour's tax policies are aimed at helping those in middle and low income Wales. The Tories would give tax breaks to the super rich, most of whom are in England. Their policy of giving away £200,000 to the richest 3,000 estates in the UK will do nothing to help the economic recovery when it comes to Wales".

ONS figures show that Welsh households are, if the median figures are looked at, doing better than London and most English regions. This includes a measure of how well Welsh pensioners are doing.

Labour is acting on inequality.

We are the first government to commit to halving child poverty by 2011 raising the bar to eradicating child poverty by 2020. We have made huge strides and are ready for the work that remains to be done. In contrast the last time the Tories were in power child poverty doubled.

We have paid out around £485 million in Child Benefit - which has helped around 355,000 families in Wales.

We have acted on pensioner poverty. Average pensioner incomes from the state are up by 25% - more than the rise in earnings over the last decade and £1500 a year better off in 2009/10 due to our tax and benefit changes.

Pension credits ensures that no-one aged 60 or over need live on less than £130 a week (£198.45 for couples). This represents an increase by almost one third in real terms compared to 1997.

We are also keeping over 680,000 pensioner households in Wales warm and reducing their bills with our Winter Fuel payments and Welsh Assembly Government's Home Energy Efficiency Scheme Cymru.

Help is also available in the form of Housing Benefit and Council Tax benefit. The Welsh Assembly Government is making available £2 million to Welsh local authorities for additional help with Council Tax for the over 60s this year.

In Wales pensioners benefit from:

Free prescriptions for drugs and eye tests,

Free TV licenses for over 75s

Free bus travel for over 60s

Free dentistry for over 60s.

These are amongst the measures and the actions Labour has taken to tackle inequality in Wales.

CARWYN JONES AM became the First Minister of the National Assembly for Wales when he took the oath and was sworn in by a senior judge on Thursday 10th December.

This followed on from Carwyn's election as the Leader of the National Assembly Labour Party on the 1st December, and then a vote by Assembly Members.

The chair of Welsh Labour Garry Owen said

"We congratulate Carwyn Jones on becoming the new First Minister and look forward to working with him as the leader of the National Assembly Labour Party".

"We give our sincere thanks to Rhodri Morgan AM for all his acheivements as the former leader of Welsh Labour and his outstanding work as an ambassador for Wales". He said that "Rhodri might not be the Leader, but he would always have a leading place in our hearts".

Future Funding

Peter Hain reveals new funding deal for Wales

New funding arrangements for Wales will ensure a fair deal for the people of Wales for years to come. Under the deal negotiated with the UK Treasury the UK will take action if Wales becomes disproportionately disadvantaged by the Barnett formula.

Mr Hain said "This commitment is a major breakthrough for Wales. The Barnett formula has served Wales well over the years but action was needed to ensure that funding did not fall below what Wales needs".

"The financial situation is tough right now but we must not forget our principles. I am committed to the devolution process. For it work the right level of funding is needed. This shows the Government is committed to making devolution work. Next year the Welsh budget will rise to almost £15.5 billion, helping to ensure the delivery of front-line services that the people of Wales need. This deal will ensure Wales will always get the best possible deal in the future".

Mr Haid added " The Holtham commision made clear that, if we do not take action, spending could decline relative to the rest of the UK. That is not acceptable. And that is why I have fought so hard for this new commitment from the Treasury to assess the impact of future spending reviews in Wales. If a spending review results in a bad deal for Wales, if Wales is disproprtionately disadvantaged compared to other parts of the UK, then we now have a mechanism to take action".

The new arrangement is:

* the Government agrees that the Barnett formula could lead to convergence to an extent that would be regrarded as unacceptable although further convergence is not currently expected in the coming years;

* the Government will make a full assessment of the extent of the convergence with consideration of Wales' position relative to other parts of the United Kningdom as part of each spending review; and

* following this assessment the Government would be prepared to take action if appropriate to ensure Wales is not disproportionately disadvantaged.

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