Like it or not, yesterday’s Welsh Government budget is very much about spending cuts, although they’re delivered as a tight squeeze rather than the swing of an axe.  There’re no big changes to any area of expenditure, rather a…

Universal benefits such as free care for the elderly, free university tuition and free prescriptions are on the agenda. As Gordon Hector blogged here yesterday, Clegg opened up space for debate at the Lib Dem conference earlier this week. And…

The UK Government could create a £24 million hole in Welsh Government and Welsh local authority finances through a relatively unrecognized reform to the most commonly claimed welfare benefit – help with Council Tax. Council Tax Benefit (CTB) was paid…

Now the dust has (almost) settled from the Budget, it’s worth thinking about the missed opportunities. What didn’t we see last week that would have been welcome? Here are three big things this budget didn’t do: 1. Funding of social…

The headlines triggered a predictable response of shock. “A first-class stamp will rise in price from 46p to 60p from 30 April…” reported the BBC. The story attracted 300 comments within a matter of minutes, and has since passed over…