The Year Ahead - What the New Welsh Government must deliver in its first year

The Year Ahead - What the New Welsh Government must deliver in its first year

Cymru has always aspired to be a nation that acts with compassion in our communities and across the world. Today that promise is under strain.

Across Cymru, too many people are struggling to afford the basics. Poverty is deep, persistent, and still shaping the life chances of far too many children. At the same time, global crises, from conflict to climate breakdown, are pushing millions into poverty and displacement.

These are not separate challenges. They are connected. And none of this is inevitable. Everything rests on choices we make.

If we are serious about being a fair nation and a globally responsible one, we need action that matches our values. The first year of this Government must prove that fairness is more than a slogan and a promise, it is a fundamental part of their programme.

The new Welsh Government takes office at a moment of profound challenge at home and abroad.

A Government’s First Test: A Roadmap to End Child Poverty

Tackling child poverty will be a fundamental test of this Government’s success. Its commitment to prioritising the eradication of child poverty is welcome — but delivery is what matters.

Key interventions are already on the table: expanding childcare towards a universal offer, extending free school meals, and introducing Cynnal, the Welsh Child Payment. These measures have the potential to make a meaningful difference — but only if they are backed by a clear, time-bound roadmap, strong accountability, and a relentless focus on impact. They must be implemented in a way that drives high take-up, particularly among those families who need support most, and they must be regularly reviewed to ensure they are delivering real improvements in people’s lives rather than simply expanding provision on paper.

Without clear milestones and consistent public reporting, there is a real risk of drift. That is why transparency must be built into delivery from the outset. The rapid development of the promised digital dashboard to track progress is therefore essential, providing clear, accessible evidence on whether policies are reducing child poverty as intended.

Progress in ending child poverty is achievable within this term. But it will require urgency, discipline and political focus, with income, not just services, treated as central to the response.

Building a Caring Economy — Not Just Growing the Old One

If this Government wants to deliver fairness, it must reshape the economy itself. Growth on its own will not reduce poverty or inequality, relying on it to do so risks leaving too many people behind. What Wales needs instead is an economy that deliberately invests in care - in people, in communities and in the systems that sustain everyday life.

Childcare is one of the biggest pressures on family budgets and a major barrier to work, training and opportunity, especially for women and single parents. And for the wider economy, it is essential infrastructure that enables participation and productivity.

Expanding funded childcare matters, but it must be fair, fast and accessible, with a simple system that doesn’t exclude people through complexity. It must reach those who need support most, rather than reinforcing existing inequalities, and it must be built on a model that is sustainable in the long term and capable of delivering consistent, high-quality provision.

This depends on the workforce behind it. If childcare is to expand successfully, the people delivering it must be properly valued. That means fair pay, secure contracts and decent working conditions - without which the system cannot grow or maintain quality. Not achieving this risks undermining the very ambition to expand access.

We recognise the challenges Welsh Government face, and their ambition to deliver, but the size of the task must not be allowed to hinder rapid progress on delivery.  Cymru’s children and families need urgent action now - and childcare must be recognised as a cornerstone of a stronger, fairer, caring economy.

More broadly, building a caring economy means recognising that care work - from childcare to social care - is not a peripheral part of the system but its foundation. It is what enables people to live, to work and to participate fully in society. Investing in care is therefore not a cost to be managed, but a strategic choice that strengthens resilience, expands opportunity and drives greater equality across Wales.

Fairness at the Heart of the Economy

A fair Wales needs an economy that actively raises living standards, reduces inequality and keeps wealth rooted in its communities. That means moving decisively beyond a model that simply hopes growth will trickle down and instead shaping an economy that works for everyone by design. Government has powerful levers at its disposal, from how it spends public money to how it procures goods and services and supports businesses. These must be used deliberately to drive fairness.

This means backing fair work, ensuring that public investment supports the real Living Wage and secure employment, and using procurement to grow community wealth rather than allowing resources to leak out of local economies. It also means creating the conditions for local, responsible businesses to thrive and reinvest in the communities they serve. Without confronting structural inequality head-on, progress will always be partial, and too many people will continue to be excluded from the benefits of economic growth.

A Just Transition

Climate and inequality are inseparable, and policy must reduce both. If climate action pushes up costs for low-income households who are already struggling or shifts the burden onto communities elsewhere in the world it hasn’t delivered justice, and it won’t sustain public support. A just transition must therefore ensure that people experience tangible benefits in their daily lives, from lower energy bills through warmer homes and more efficient energy systems, to access to good, secure jobs in green industries.

This is why Welsh Government must strengthen and implement the Just Transition Strategy, with clear targets and accountability measures that put fairness and inequality reduction at its core. The benefits of the transition - warmer homes, lower bills, secure and decent jobs for all and cleaner air - must be shared by communities in Cymru and beyond. The costs of transition must not be imposed on those with the least.

A just transition to a green and caring economy is not optional - it is the only credible path forward. Social, economic and climate justice must be at the heart of Cymru’s economic transformation.

A Human Rights Act for Cymru

The commitment to bring forward a Human Rights Act for Wales is an important step towards building a fairer nation.

But rights are not abstract - they must shape the real choices Ministers make on social security, childcare, housing, climate and international partnerships.

A fair Cymru is one where everyone can live with dignity, security and opportunity - and where our decisions do not harm people elsewhere. These rights should be protected in law, with international human rights legislation fully embedded in Welsh legislation.

This first year must be about turning commitments into action and making rights real in people’s everyday lives.

A Fair and Globally Responsible Nation 

Cymru has long claimed a role as a globally responsible nation.

That claim needs to be matched by decisions, budgets and standards. With global poverty rising, climate injustice deepening and humanitarian crises escalating, Cymru cannot step back, it must step forward in practical ways. This means increasing support for international development and strengthening long-term, community-led global partnerships, and it also means ensuring Welsh public spending and procurement do no harm overseas with clear human rights and environmental safeguards built in at the foundation.

In an interconnected world, global justice isn’t separate from domestic priorities: it’s part of what it means for Cymru to lead with fairness, live its values, and act responsibly beyond its borders.

The Choice Ahead

The new Welsh Government has set out an ambitious programme and many of its priorities align with what Cymru urgently needs, and that overlaps many of Oxfam Cymru’s priorities. But the real test lies in what happens next. The first year is a defining opportunity to act with urgency on poverty, invest in a caring economy, deliver climate action that reduces inequality and make justice real in people’s lives.

Poverty in Cymru is not a marginal issue, it’s the defining reality for too many people, especially for children.  At the same time, global poverty and humanitarian need are rising, driven by conflict, climate impacts and deepening inequality. These challenges are interconnected. Decisions on budgets, climate policy, procurement, and human and nature rights have consequences not just here at home, but around the world.

This Government’s first year will be a defining moment - a chance to deliver the bold action needed to build a fairer Cymru, and to show leadership on the global stage for peace, justice and the protection of people and planet for generations to come.