In the Senedd, November 2023

Find out how the Bevan Foundation’s ideas and insights informed debate in the Welsh Parliament in November 2023.

November is always a busy time in the Senedd and the Bevan Foundation were pleased to see our work used to inform debate once more. 

Housing affordability 

November 22nd saw Plaid Cymru hold a debate in plenary on the private rental sector in Wales. The Foundation’s work on housing was referenced extensively during the discussion, with multiple members drawing on our work. 

The primary piece of work members drew on during the debate was the Bevan Foundation’s work on the Local Housing Allowance. Early this year, the Bevan Foundation revealed that only 32 properties were advertised for rent across the whole of Wales at or below LHA rates. Our work in this area was referenced by both Plaid Cymru MS Peredur Owen Griffiths and Labour MS Jenny Rathbone, who stated that members:

should be grateful to the Bevan Foundation

for our work in this area. 

The Minister for Climate Change, Julie James MS also made reference to our work on LHA during her contribution to the debate.

Information shared at our recent webinar, A snapshot of housing was also referenced during the debate. During her contribution, Plaid Cymru MS, Sioned Williams stated:

In their recent webinar on housing costs, Dr Steffan Evans from the Bevan Foundation said that the foundation’s research shows that the high cost of rent is pushing people into poverty.

Transforming health and care through digital data 

On November 21st the Bevan Foundation held a joint roundtable discussion at the Senedd on transforming health and care through the use of digital data with Digital Health and Care Wales. The event was well attended and offered members valuable insights into the future of care in Wales. The value of the event was demonstrated when Labour MS Sarah Murphy made extensive reference to it during the Welsh Conservatives’ debate on digital and AI technology in the NHS, just a day later. She stated:

I think that the Digital Health and Care Wales team appreciated having a break from me grilling them from across the committee table yesterday when I sponsored their event with the Bevan Foundation to look at digital health and care in Wales. I’ll be honest with you, at the start of the meeting, I was very blunt—not like me—in saying that I did not feel comfortable signing up for the new NHS Wales app without having more clarity, transparency and accountability about how our health data would be collected, stored and shared. I’m pleased to say that, by the end, I felt far more confident, they answered all of my questions, and I am planning to download it so that I can get my repeat prescription as soon as possible.