What to expect from the Bevan Foundation in 2024

2024 is bringing renewed pressure on people’s standards of living as well as considerable political change. As ever, the Bevan Foundation is poised to provide unique insights and practical solutions to these challenging times.

Poverty

2024 is set to be another tough year for people in Wales. Inflation, real-terms cuts to incomes and a big squeeze on public services will mean standards of living falling even further.  The Bevan Foundation’s Snapshot of Poverty surveys, due in March and October, will reveal the pressure that Welsh households are under.

Children are at heightened risk of living in poverty, and the consequences for them can be devastating. Our March Snapshot will include unique insights into children’s experiences of living in a low-income family, and we’ll be delving deeper into the causes of poverty in families with a 0–4-year-old and developing recommendations.  One solution is better childcare – look out for our findings to be launched in January.

Our analyses have demonstrated that the majority of people living in relative low-income live in households where someone is working. Over the year we’ll be looking at what’s driving in-work poverty and exploring options, including the potential of green jobs, to end poverty wages.

Housing crisis

The housing crisis also shows few signs of easing, as private renters and households with mortgages face substantial cost hikes.  Local authorities clearly expect homelessness to continue to rise, given that several are converting former shops and offices to temporary accommodation.  The Bevan Foundation will be exploring how to reduce the number of people in temporary housing, including developing new ideas to increase the supply of social and co-operatively-owned homes by making better use of land and the existing housing stock. 

Access to Justice

With immigration as hot a topic as ever, we’ll be urging the Welsh Government to ensure justice for people from other parts of the world who move to Wales.  In February we’ll be highlighting how some migrants with No Recourse to Public Funds are being denied public services to which they are entitled, pushing them into destitution.  Later in the year, we’ll reveal the shocking experiences of people seeking legal advice on immigration and set out options for achieving a step change in the quantity and quality of provision.

Resources and events

As well as our ground-breaking projects, the Bevan Foundation team will publish our popular monthly analyses of the State of Wales, and continue to deliver timely and topical webinars, seminars and training. Sign up to receive our monthly newsletter, The Spark, and you’ll receive all the latest updates throughout the year.

Please support us this year

As always, none of our vital work would be possible without the many people and organisations who support us. If you’re interested in playing a part in enabling the Foundation to make a big impact in 2024, please consider supporting us or getting a subscription for your organisation. Feel free to email us for more information.