{"id":747017,"date":"2026-02-06T20:54:29","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T20:54:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/747017\/"},"modified":"2026-02-06T20:54:29","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T20:54:29","slug":"bank-of-england-boss-meets-swansea-charity-fighting-child-poverty-economic-decisions-must-hear-real-families","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/747017\/","title":{"rendered":"Bank of England boss meets Swansea charity fighting child poverty: \u2018Economic decisions must hear real families\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Andrew Bailey visited Faith in Families\u2019 Cwtch Mawr Multibank<\/strong> in the city, meeting CEO Cherrie Bija<\/strong> and hearing how rising costs, interest rates and financial pressure are hitting children long before the impact shows up in official statistics.<\/p>\n

The visit brought one of the UK\u2019s most powerful economic figures into the heart of a charity that works daily with families struggling to afford the basics.<\/p>\n

\"ShelvingStaff show Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey how donated toys, clothing and essentials are organised and distributed through the Cwtch Mawr Multibank. (Image: Faith in Families)\u2018Child poverty is everyone\u2019s business\u2019<\/p>\n

Cherrie Bija said the meeting was a chance to put the lived experience of Swansea families directly into national economic conversations.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cChild poverty is everyone\u2019s business,\u201d she said. \u201cWe have a responsibility to advocate for those who are most vulnerable in our society, especially children, and to make sure their voices are heard at every level.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Faith in Families supports children facing poverty, trauma and crisis across Swansea Bay, providing everything from emotional support to essential items through its multibank model.<\/p>\n

Staff told the Governor how financial strain shows up in children\u2019s lives \u2014 in stress, mental health, relationships and a sense of safety \u2014 long before it appears in spreadsheets or economic forecasts.<\/p>\n

\"AndrewBank of England Governor Andrew Bailey visits the Cwtch Mawr Multibank in Swansea, speaking with staff about how rising costs are affecting families supported by the project. (Image: Faith in Families)Interest rates hitting families hardest<\/p>\n

The charity highlighted how interest rates shape everyday life: the cost of mortgages and rent, food and energy bills, and whether families feel able to cope or are pushed closer to crisis.<\/p>\n

Households already under pressure feel the impact first, they said \u2014 and children often carry the consequences.<\/p>\n

Bailey\u2019s visit was described as an important moment, bringing frontline experience into discussions usually dominated by markets and monetary policy.<\/p>\n

What is Cwtch Mawr Multibank?<\/p>\n

Cwtch Mawr is Wales\u2019s first multibank, redistributing surplus goods from businesses to families through trusted frontline organisations. The model aims to support families with dignity while reducing waste and strengthening community\u2011led responses to poverty.<\/p>\n

Faith in Families says it will continue to \u201cstand alongside children and families, advocating boldly for fairness, dignity and the best possible start in life\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Andrew Bailey visited Faith in Families\u2019 Cwtch Mawr Multibank in the city, meeting CEO Cherrie Bija and hearing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":747018,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5008],"tags":[25548,936,40703,748,12450,220578,220579,220580,393,220581,4884,220582,1148,16,15],"class_list":["post-747017","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-england","tag-andrew-bailey","tag-bank-of-england","tag-bank-of-england-governor","tag-britain","tag-charity","tag-cherrie-bija","tag-cwtch-mawr","tag-cwtch-mawr-multibank","tag-england","tag-faith-in-families","tag-great-britain","tag-multibank","tag-swansea","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116025679593476462","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/747017","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=747017"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/747017\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/747018"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=747017"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=747017"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=747017"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}