Some of Wales' poorest parents could receive extra cash within months

Some of the poorest parents in Wales could receive extra cash in just over three months time, the new deputy first minister has said.

The Plaid Cymru administration has plans for a £10m pilot scheme, which would see £10 a week for 15,000 children up to six years old, whose parents already receive universal credit (UC).

The Cynnal payment - Welsh for maintain - would be along the lines of a scheme run in Scotland, which was initially piloted at £10 a week and is now £26.70 a week.

New Deputy First Minister Sioned Williams said work would be done in the next 100 days in order to "initiate" the plan.

Unlike the Scottish government, the Welsh administration does not have control over benefits, and there are concerns that the UK government could deduct money from Welsh parents if they receive cash through this Plaid Cymru government plan.

Williams, speaking to BBC Walescast shortly after First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth unveiled the first-ever solely Plaid Cymru ministerial team, said that Plaid ministers would start work on the plan straight away.

"This is something we've said that we're going to start work on immediately to understand what that would look like, where would it be best to pilot this in order to have that proper evaluation of the impact of it."

Asked if in one hundred days time the government would be able to say the policy can start, Williams said: "Yes.

"We're going to plan it. We've said that we were going to do that work in the first one hundred days and then be able to initiate it."

If the pilot was successful, Williams said "we would then make the case" to the UK government.

"If we needed further powers in order to roll that out beyond a pilot, then we would take the evidence that we have, evidence that is already apparent from Scotland.

"We would be able to show the impact that it's had and then we would say we need those powers to roll it out across Wales."

Plaid's election pledges also promised that the party would work towards a national care service, free of the point of use.

Before unveiling his ministerial team, ap Iorwerth told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast that financial constraints were why his government cannot press ahead with the idea "right now".

Ap Iorwerth said the government "should be moving towards free social care", but said "we had to make some calls in the build up to this election".

"Financial constraints are the reason why ultimately we are not able to say we're pressing ahead with free social care right now.

"But that doesn't mean to say that we don't believe that having that national health and care system is absolutely crucial and that we continue to work towards the delivery of that genuinely integrated landscape."

Ap Iorwerth said there needed to be "a thousand" more childcare workers to deliver its plans to expand childcare.

The party wants to expand care to every child aged nine months to four years, for 20 hours a week.

Walescast is on BBC One Wales at 22.40 GMT on Wednesday and available on iPlayer.