Inquiry5

The Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee agreed to undertake three inquiries which look at poverty in Wales.

The second strand of this work was a short, focused piece of work looking at Communities First. The Committee intended this work to help shape future policy and the transitional arrangements as the programme closed down by reviewing what had worked effectively.

Terms of reference

The terms of reference for the inquiry were to consider:

• what worked and didn’t work about the Communities First programme;
• how local authorities will decide which projects continue to receive funding after June 2017; and
• how different poverty reduction programmes (Communities for Work, Lift, Flying Start etc.) will change as a result of the end of Communities First.

Evidence Gathering

As part of its evidence gathering, the Committee held a variety of oral evidence sessions and held a consultation. A schedule of oral evidence can be viewed below.

Report

The Committee published its initial findings in on 25 July 2017. This was in order to enable the Committee to compile and publish the findings as quickly as possible.

The Committee published the full report: Communities First – lessons learnt on 18 October 2017.

The Welsh Government’s response to the report was published in October 2017. The report and government response was debated in Plenary on 25 October 2017.

The other strands of the Committee’s work relating to poverty can be accessed here and here.

Keeping in touch

If you'd like to know more about the work of the Equality, Local Government and Communities, please view its homepage, follow its Twitter account or contact the team that supports the Committee at SeneddCommunities@assembly.wales