Senedd Committee endorses Bevan Foundation calls for a Welsh Benefits System

The Senedd’s Econcomy, Trade and Rural Affairs Committee publishes the findings of its inquiry into cost of living pressures

The Senedd’s Senedd’s Econcomy, Trade and Rural Affairs Committee published the findings of its inquiry into cost of living pressures on July 28. The Bevan Foundation submitted written and oral evidence to the Committee earlier in the year. We are pleased to see that our evidence is reflected in the Committee’s final report.

In total the Committee makes 27 recommendations to the Welsh Government. Many of these closely reflect arguments made by the Bevan Foundation in our evidence and we are delighted to see the Committee have taken these on board. We are particularly pleased to see the Committee echo our calls for the Welsh Government to accelerate its work to establish a Welsh Benefits System. 

The committee makes four recommendations of the Welsh Government in relation to the need to establish a Welsh Benefits. All of these are in line with our calls as a Foundation:

• The Welsh Government should accelerate work to bring together means-tested support schemes for low-income households through a Welsh benefits system. The new system must ensure greater consistency in local authorities’ delivery, and move towards a position where people who need one form of support are automatically passported to other sources of assistance that they are eligible for.
• As part of its work on developing the Welsh benefits system, the Welsh Government should work towards developing a one-stop shop portal through which households across Wales can apply directly to their local authority for the different means-tested schemes that are available.
• The Welsh Government should provide an assessment of how successfully local authorities have used the best practice toolkit so far, and consider taking further steps such as developing statutory guidance if there is evidence to do so.
• The Welsh Government should explore the feasibility of extending the eligibility criteria of its means-tested schemes to support low income households with living costs, to support those households who are just missing out. It should report back to the Committee with its findings.

The Bevan Foundation’s influence on the Committee’s recommendations is not just limited to its work on a Welsh Benefits System. Other recommendations made by the Committee that reflect the Foundation’s calls during its evidence include:

• Calls on the Welsh Government to share what lessons have been learned as to how new cost-of-living payments have been administered to date.
• Calls on the Welsh Government to improve public sector pay and conditions and to use its procurement processes to improve pay in the private sector. 
• Calls on the Welsh Government to consider the impact the differing impact the cost-of-living crisis may be having on rural communities including off grid households.

In addition to the Foundation’s own calls we were delighted to see the written evidence submitted by Action in Caerau and Ely referenced in the Committee’s final report. The Bevan Foundation has been working in partnership with ACE to ensure people with lived experience of poverty have an opportunity to influence decision making in Wales. We are therefore delighted to see that their submission was considered by Committee as they drafted their report.