Welfare Reform in Wales

The changes that will affect one in four people in Wales as various social security benefits change were explored by almost 100 delegates at the Wales Welfare Reform Conference, held on 19th April 2012.  Speakers from DWP, Job Centre Plus, local health boards, academia and more explored the detail of new rules on eligibility for benefit claimants.  The numbers of people that will be affected by change, the cumulative impact of the changes, and the sheer complexity of reform left delegates in no doubt that hundreds of thousands of people – many of them people already in employment but on low wages – will lose some if not all of their benefits.

Delegates warmly praised the conference for its superb content and expert speakers, but left in a down-beat mood as the sheet scale of the changes were realised.