Extract from Business
statement and announcement
: Minister, I'd like a
statement on what the Welsh Government are doing to support
families who receive the Healthy Start allowance. A recent report
from Food Foundation's kids food guarantee found that there are
no first infant formulas available that are affordable with the
UK Government Healthy Start allowance, which is currently £8.50 a
week for those with children under one year of age. The research
found that the cost of a standard powdered formula varied between
£9.39 and £15.95 in supermarkets.
The allowance is there to help parents from low-income families
by using vouchers to buy fruit, veg, milk and formulas—and, as
demonstrated at the moment in terms of milk formulas, that is not
in any way adequate. Of course, we know that not every infant can
be breastfed, and not being able to afford first infant formula
poses a real risk to the infant's health, and the formula is
specifically balanced to contain the right amount of nutrients
and calories. With costs so high, there are fears that parents
may feel they have no choice but either to cut back on feeding
their children or to water it down. I am keen to know, Minister,
what discussions the Welsh Government have had with the UK
Government about this, and what the Welsh Government are doing to
support families who are struggling to buy first infant formula.
These families need help, more now than ever. It's a stark
reminder of how the cost of living and the crash of the economy
is really hitting home.
(Minister for Rural
Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd): Thank you. As you point
out, the Healthy Start scheme is not devolved, but it does
provide financial help towards buying healthy food, milk and
formula. The payments for under-ones is £8.50 a week, whereas for
infants between one and four years, it's £4.25 a week, so even
the £8.50 may not cover the full price of infant formula. But the
Healthy Start scheme is designed to help towards the cost of
foods and drinks included, not necessarily cover the cost of a
family's healthy food bill in its entirety. But we do have some
concerns about the delivery of the scheme. The Minister wishes to
review the Healthy Start scheme in Wales and consider possible
options for devolution, going forward. We also have the best
uptake of the scheme out of any UK nation here, so I think it's
really important that the Minister—and I know she will do
that—continues to work with partners to increase access and
awareness of support.
Extract from statement
on Fairtrade Nation—15-year anniversary
:...According to a
report by Endangered Aisle, which surveys shoppers to see how
climate change is likely to drive the practices of supermarkets
in future, 50 per cent said price is a barrier to shopping
sustainably, and that they would be searching for the cheapest
option every time. The cost-of-living crisis is endangering and
will prevent people from making that choice, choosing those fair
trade options. One of the heads of the Fairtrade Foundation, Anna
Barker, has told us about the impact of the cost-of-living crisis
and that that will be something that impacts farmers too, saying
that we're going to see farmers considering whether they are in
the right industry if they can't sell their produce for a price
that meets the production cost.
There is hope, however, that fair trade will be able to overcome
the economic pressures, with some supermarkets,
I was very pleased to see recently, ensuring that their budget
ranges now also include fair trade products, providing a real
choice for those shoppers who find it difficult to cope with the
increases in food prices. But are the supermarkets
and shops, in doing so, at the same time providing clothes and
foods that have been produced by workers who are oppressed and
exploited here and abroad, or trade with companies that
contribute to deforestation and pollution, how can they justify
those two things? How can we keep a weather eye on those?
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