Big impact in the Senedd in November

November saw the Bevan Foundation’s impact and ideas informing Senedd business nearly every day it was in session in the month.

Cost of living

The Senedd drew heavily on Bevan Foundation insights and ideas over the month.

On 9^th November, our evidence to the Economy, Trade and Rural Affairs Committee’s enquiry into the future of hospitality, tourism and retail industries was cited by Paul Davies MS, chair of the Committee and Member for Preseli Pembrokeshire. He was moving the motion in Plenary that the Senedd note the Committee’s report ‘Raising the Bar: Securing the future of Hospitality, Tourism and Retail’.

The following week, on 16^th November, Plenary debated the report by the Economy, Trade, and Rural Affairs Committee other recent report, on ‘Cost of living pressures’. The chair of the Committee, Paul Davies MS, referred to evidence on the need to streamline and integrate the process of applying for devolved grants and allowances and also mentioned our partners, ACE.

 Action in Caerau and Ely, ACE, was one of the grass-roots organisations supporting people on low incomes, and their evidence highlights a particularly important aspect of the inquiry. They made the very important point that it’s only of any benefit if you know about it.

He pointed out to Plenary that three of the recommendations in the report call for better passporting of benefits, more co-ordination, and streamlining of services in a one-stop-shop approach – key aspects of the Bevan Foundation’s Welsh Benefits idea.

The importance of uplifting benefits in line with inflation, including devolved grants and allowances, was also debated in Senedd Plenary.  On 15^th November, Peter Fox MS, member for Monmouth, used First Minister’s Questions to ask if the Welsh Government planned to increase the value of devolved grants and allowances in line with inflation, as called for by the Bevan Foundation the previous day.  The First Minister said that he had made a case for an increase in discretionary housing payments and the local housing allowance , which are not devolved, to the UK Government but did not respond to the question on the devolved grants and allowances.

The Bevan Foundation’s call to uplift devolved grants and allowances in line with inflation was raised in the Siambr again on 23^rd November.  Adam Price MS, leader of Plaid Cymru and member for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr, asked in Questions to the Minister for Education and Welsh Language that the value of Education Maintenance Allowance be restored to its mid-200s level. The Minister, Jeremy Miles MS, responded that the increase would cost more than £15 million and was unaffordable.

Housing and homelessness

The Bevan Foundation’s findings on housing and homelessness continued to inform the Senedd’s business in November. The Local Government and Housing Committee’s inquiry into homelessness covered the question of Local Housing Allowance in some depth in its session on 16^th November.  Local authorities giving evidence used the same methodology as the Bevan Foundation to assess the gap between market rents and LHA. Mabon ap Gwynfor MS also quoted our reports.

The Committee session on 24^th November on the same topic heard from our head of policy, Dr Steffan Evans, who have oral evidence to the Committee. A transcript of the session is available here.

Our findings on Airbnb were also mentioned in a debate in Plenary on 15^th November about the Economy Minister’s proposal to introduce a statutory licensing scheme for visitor accommodation.