In the Senedd, December 2024

The Bevan Foundation’s work informed discussion in December despite the Senedd sitting for only a few weeks.

To close the year, the Bevan Foundation is pleased to see its work informing scrutiny and discussion across a range of areas, including housing, fuel poverty, and childcare.  

Fuel Poverty 

Head of Policy, Dr Steffan Evans, gave evidence to the Equality and Social Justice Committee on 2 December on Fuel Poverty in Wales. He discussed how energy efficiency is often spoken about in its own space, rather than in a broader context, and to reach the target of eradicating fuel poverty requires the investment following.  

In response to a written question by Buffy Williams MS about the progress on developing effective protection for households in need on 11 December, the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Trefnydd and Chief Whip, Jane Hutt MS said:  

We are working directly with energy suppliers to make sure they are doing all they can to support vulnerable customers. We have also shared with Ministers for Energy and Consumers the Bevan Foundation’s report which describes suppliers’ role on supporting vulnerable customers.

Jane Dodds MS raised in Plenary on 3 December the Warm Homes Programme, referencing the Foundation’s finding that it will take 136 years to address all fuel-poor households, and asking the Welsh Government what is being done to ensure that the programme can continue at scale and at pace.  

Housing

Bevan Foundation research informed the Welsh Conservatives’ Debate on housing and homelessness on 11 December. Mark Isherwood MS raised the urgent levels of homelessness in Wales, and said: 

In September, the Bevan Foundation said that one in every 215 households and six in every 1,000 children now live in temporary accommodation in Wales. The cost of temporary accommodation in Wales has more than doubled since 2021, rising from over £41 million to over £99 million in the 2023-24 financial year. Based on the average construction cost of £250,000 per unit, this could build nearly 400 additional homes.

Mark Isherwood MS went on to state that the Welsh Government’s estimate that over 7,000 new homes were needed annually to meet social and market housing needs fell short of the Bevan Foundation’s and other’s estimates that between 12,000 and 15,000 houses (including 5,000 social homes) are needed.  

Draft Budget 2025-26

On 10 December, Gareth Davies MS drew on the Foundation’s work to inform a Plenary session debating the Draft Budget 2025-26. He said: 

The Bevan Foundation found that, since the 2024-25 budget, Wales has seen no improvement in living standards, with the proportion of people reporting going without everyday essentials being unchanged during this period. They also stated that, in some ways, the position has worsened, with more people saying that they are more in debt than previously.

Childcare

In a debate on the Equality and Social Justice Committee Report, ‘Their Future: Our Priority? Follow up inquiry into childcare provision in Wales’, Senedd Members from all four parties drew on the report we published jointly with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation in January 2024, Tackling disadvantage through childcare in Wales and our recent briefing, Childcare in Wales with members of the Expert Advisory Group on childcare.  

 Sioned Williams MS said: 

According to the evidence that we heard from the Bevan Foundation, the fact that parents who are aware of the schemes and are eligible to access them must submit numerous applications to access their rights is making the problem worse and more complex. The report, in its entirety, therefore calls for urgen action to simplify the current system, which is not fit for purpose, in terms of ensuring affordable access for all children to the highest quality of care across Wales, and in terms of enabling families, and mothers specifically, to benefit economically when taking up work opportunities.

Jane Dodds MS echoed Sioned Williams MSs’ statement, drawing on the Foundation’s finding that nearly half of eligible parents are unable to access the childcare offer.