The introduction of a weekly child payments scheme for poor families would be “transformational”, according to the Wales Children's Commissioner. Rocio Cifuentes said she hoped ministers would consider introducing the Scottish Child Payment, which gives £25 a week to every child living in poverty. An Oxford University expert says Scotland's system has had a significant impact on child poverty. The Welsh Government says it has no control over social security in Wales. It currently provides £3.33 billion of support for families, including free school meals, tuition fee support and student development grants. But these benefits and financial assistance programs "are separate and difficult to access and are not currently offered as a coherent package of assistance," Ms Cifuentes said. She told BBC Politics Wales that the Welsh Government should "seriously" consider taking the initiative to introduce a £35-a-week "Welsh Kids Payment" scheme for children from 16 go down. Meanwhile, she called for a cost of living subsidy for all low-income families to be accessible this winter amid the cost of living crisis. "This is an urgent critical situation affecting around a third of children and families living in Wales," she said. "These families and these children need urgent support and I'm really worried about the months ahead." In Scotland, children aged 16 and under are entitled to £25 per week, regardless of the number of children in a family, worth £1,300 per child per year. Introduced in 2021, it is claimed by 300,000 families to benefit from universal credit. But other family allowances are not affected. Chris Birt, deputy director of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation in Scotland, said families had told the social change charity that "this allows us to turn on the heating in October". "But anyone who's got kids will understand kids want to be out with their pals, they want to be involved in activities around the schools," he said. "The Scottish Child Payment will also say to parents 'well you do have that extra few quid this week for your child to be able to go out with their pals on Saturday'… and so it makes a real practical difference." Professor Danny Dorling, of Oxford University, said Scotland's payment was the most significant attempt to tackle child poverty in Europe since the fall of the Berlin Wall. "It is clearly the most direct way to help people," he said. "The parents of children, and especially their mothers, are the people who have their interests most at heart," he said. "So any talk that says that some other method is better is going against all the evidence that we've collected for decades. "You have to hand money directly to the families of those who are poorest. They use it most wisely." The Scottish Child Payment cost £428m in the current financial year out of a Scottish budget of nearly £60bn. Scotland has its own benefits system making it easier to target families who need it whereas Wales does not. The Welsh government said: "Unlike Scotland, the Welsh government does not have the legislative powers to enable us to make a payment similar to the Scottish Child Payment, as powers over social security remain with the UK government.