Giving evidence on ‘welfare’ and Wales’ constitutional future

The Bevan Foundation gave evidence to the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales in April, looking at social security benefits. 

The Bevan Foundation was pleased to give oral evidence to a meeting of the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales in April. The Commission was particularly interested in the question of whether social security benefits should be devolved. 

In a short presentation to the meeting, the Bevan Foundation’s director, Victoria Winckler, pointed out:

• the scale of UK social security spending in Wales, at £11.8 bn, plus approximately £1bn on tax credits and child benefit
• nearly half of spending is on state pensions and a further quarter is on disability benefits
• more than half the population of Wales receives some sort of social security benefit
• the system has significant impacts on devolved areas including housing, health, the labour market, disability and poverty. 
• Welsh benefits are a vital complement to the UK system.

On the question of whether UK benefits should be devolved, Victoria said that the key issues were affordability and fit with Wales’ circumstances. She said that the options were not necessarily all or nothing, with some needs-based benefits being more suitable for devolution than contribution based benefits.

More information about the Commission’s work is here.

Previous Bevan Foundation analysis of the devolution of benefits is here.