Child poverty measure by-passes main bodies

The proposed Measure on child poverty is a laudable idea, but seems to lose something in the detail. All kinds of new duties are proposed for various 'Welsh authorities', who will then have to get on and get rid of child poverty. The measure is not only about income poverty, it also covers inequality in health and education. So, the list of 'authorities' that will have the task of tackling child poverty includes, understandably, local authorities, and also local health boards, the Wales Centre for Health, and ... the Countryside Council for Wales, the National Park Authorities, and the fire service. Much though I have a lot of time for these latter bodies, I am less persuaded that they are as important to tackling child poverty as, for example, further education colleges, the national public health service, the arts council or sports council, all of which are absent from the list for some reason.