Supporting families through winter 2021

Steffan Evans reacts to the launch of the Welsh Government’s £51m support fund to help families hardest hit by cost-of-living crisis

Winter 2021 promises to be one of the most challenging in decades for families across Wales. Rising living costs combined with the £20 cut to Universal Credit and the continuing threat of Covid 19 mean that there are thousands of households worrying about how they are going to make ends meet. Today’s announcement by the Welsh Government that they will be providing greater support to low-income households is therefore welcome.

What has the Welsh Government announced?

The Welsh Government has announced that an additional £51m will be made available this winter to support households affected by the cost of living crisis. By far the most eye-catching of the proposals announced is the Winter Fuel Support Scheme.

The Winter Fuel Support Scheme will see eligible households receive a one-off payment of £100. The payment will be made available to all working-age households that receive a means-tested benefit in Wales and will be administered by local authorities. This will complement a range of other support provided by the Welsh Government and Welsh local authorities including the Discretionary Assistance Fund, Discretionary Housing Payments, Free School Meals and the Council Tax Reduction Scheme.

Will it make a difference?

The announcement made the Welsh Government will not make up for the cut to Universal Credit. It will, however, make a difference – a £100 payment is not insignificant. Given the scale of the challenge facing many families this winter, every pound really does matter. The Winter Fuel Support Scheme therefore has the potential to, at least temporarily, ease some of the pressures faced by households as long as the DWP does not claw back some of the support.

What is the long-term answer?

While welcome, the Winter Fuel Support Scheme by its very nature is only a sticking plaster solution. With no sign that the pressures that are causing the current cost of living crisis are about to ease, the Welsh Government must consider how it can support low-income families in the new year and beyond. The establishment of the Winter Fuel Support Scheme provides a hint as to where at least part of the solution may lie.

The Bevan Foundation has demonstrated that there is far more that the Welsh Government could do to provide cash or services in lieu of cash to low-income families within the existing devolution settlement. We have called on the Welsh Government to not only bring the existing grants and allowances together to create a coherent Welsh Benefits System, but also to consider how it can strengthen the support they provide. We hope that its decision to establish the Winter Fuel Support Scheme is an indication that the Welsh Government now recognises that there is far more that can be done within this space.

Increasing the eligibility criteria for Free School Meals to include – at a minimum – all children whose families receive Universal Credit is an obvious next step. The fact that the Winter Fuel Support Scheme will be available to all working age households who receive a means-tested benefit shows that the Welsh Government recognises that all low-income households are facing a difficult winter. Retaining an income threshold for Free School Meals looks like an even more illogical decision in this context.

The Welsh Government should also seek to work with local authorities to ensure that they maximise the support they provide. A few weeks ago we drew attention to the decision of Torfaen Council to provide a £4 weekly top up to households that receive DHPs, to help them manage the cut to Universal Credit. We believe that the Welsh Government should work with all local authorities to ensure that they too are seeking to maximise the support low income families receive.

Steffan Evans is Head of Policy (Poverty) at the Bevan Foundation