Deputy Minister for Tackling Poverty, Vaughan Gething visited Pembrokeshire yesterday (Thursday) to see how Welsh Government schemes are providing valuable support to families and children in the county's most deprived areas.

His first appointment was to meet parents attending a play session with their babies at the Flying Start Centre in Pennar.

The Flying Start programme helps families with children up to four-years-old. It gives eligible parents free part-time childcare for two to three-year-olds, parenting support, an enhanced health visitor service and help for early language development. The scheme helps families to look after their children's health and well-being, working in partnership with primary and community healthcare.

Last year over 600 children and their families (649) in Pembrokeshire benefited from using Flying Start services.

Across Wales, more than 23,000 children were in receipt of Flying Start services in 2012/13. The Welsh Government is committed to expanding this to 36,000 children and families. The extension is being supported with £19 million of extra capital funding, £320,000 of which has been allocated to Pembrokeshire. The Welsh Government has also allocated the county a Flying Start Revenue budget of £2,033,532 for the current financial year.

Later in the morning the Deputy Minister joined families on Freshwater West Beach for a family fun day. The event was organised by the Welsh Government's Families First scheme and was part of its programme of events and services to support families living or at risk of living in poverty through early intervention.