Poverty

Even if we can save the global economy from its current crisis, a new Oxfam report shows how the proceeds of growth are still often failing to reach the poor, and how the negative impacts of unsustainable growth models could […] »

The discussion about the impact of so-called benefit cap is generating a lot of heat and very little light, and risks being a diversion from the real issues in the UK Government’s welfare reform agenda. The limit of £500 on […] »

Cuts Watch Cymru is a coalition of third sector organisations in Wales who are concerned with the impact of the spending cuts on people in Wales.  There are almost 700,000 people in Wales already living beneath the official poverty line […] »

Worrying new research from from Citizens Advice reveals that 41% of people in Wales are now worried they can’t afford their next fuel bill, and more than one in two (56%) say energy bills will put a strain on their […] »

As a new year dawns and once again there is time for reflection on the year just gone, there are many contenders for events that shocked, delighted, amused, disappointed or just made me sit up and take notice. My thoughts […] »

How should the Welsh Government handle its new-found responsibility for the Social Fund?  Mark Drakeford AM and Kirrin Davidson look at the troubled history of this vital source of help to people in urgent need, and argue that the devolution […] »

Phillip Davies MP recently suggested that disabled people should be allowed to ‘opt out’ of the minimum wage in an effort to improve their employment prospects. Understandably, the subject dominated some blogs over the weekend. This is because the minimum wage, […] »

The coalition agreement last year contained a positive step forward for the treatment of children with uncertain immigration status. It contained a pledge to end the detention of children, some of whom as young as five, who after all have […] »

The tabloid view of people who have been unemployed over the long term is that they are largely unemployed due to their own inadequacies and lack of effort. As a result, public debate over welfare reform has been dominated by […] »

‘Social mobility’ has been all over the media in Wales and elsewhere these past two weeks.  What’s striking about this, as a value and goal, is just how much time people spend agreeing about it.  When Nick Clegg launched Opening […] »