In her budget this week, the chancellor announced that the UK Government would be removing the 'two-child limit', a measure that will lift more than half a million children out of poverty according to the Institute of Fiscal Studies.

This is something I personally welcome, given the devastating impact that poverty has on people's lives, particularly on the lives of children.

Critics of the policy have highlighted its cost, yet in doing so do not seem to have fully considered the significant costs caused by poverty itself - both to individuals and the public purse.

This is something I examine through the lens of older people's experiences in my latest report, Older People in Poverty in Wales, which was published earlier this week.

The report highlights the costs to individuals who find themselves forced to skip meals (25 per cent of older people last year) or go without heating, and the ways that in the longer-term this can exacerbate a range of health conditions, including arthritis, diabetes and heart disease.

Treating these conditions - dealing with the impact of poverty - comes at a significant cost. We know, for example, that cold homes cost the NHS in Wales more than £40million every year, while people in poverty may also find themselves at points of crisis, or in need of care and support via health or social care services, which often require costly interventions.

Investing in tackling poverty could unlock tens of millions of pounds that could be used to improve our public services and communities here in Wales.

In the immediate term, we need to see greater support for older people who are living in poverty or struggling financially, including those who do not currently qualify for other forms of support.

This means taking action to make it easier for older people to claim the support they are entitled to, alongside tackling the stigma often associated with claiming entitlements. It means ending the Pension Credit cliff edge, which results in people missing out on support that can be worth thousands of pounds.

It means significantly improving energy efficiency in people's homes, particularly important here given that Wales has some of the oldest housing stock in Europe. And it means ensuring that older people facing hardship can easily access emergency support when they need it.

Longer term, we also need a national conversation about the level of income needed to enable us to live and age well, the starting point for creating a sustainable pensions system that provides us all with adequate financial support when we retire.

I will continue to press for action to tackle poverty, not only to ensure that older people can get the financial support they need to protect their well-being, but to create a fairer, healthier, more inclusive Wales, something that benefits us all.