(Title Image: JJ Ellison under Creative Commons Licence BY-SA-3.0)
- Senedd notes Communities Committee report recommending partial devolution of welfare administration.
- Some members disappointed by the number of Welsh Government rejections of the report’s recommendations.
- Welsh Government adopts a reluctant approach to devolution of welfare administration – not ruling anything in or out subject to further research.
Sticking to the status quo “a considerable risk”
Chair of the Committee, John Griffiths (Lab, Newport East) was one of a number of MSs who expressed disappointment at the Welsh Government’s rejection of several recommendations, citing the Covid-19 pandemic as a valid reason not to consider reforms to the welfare system given the level of present uncertainty.
He added that there was a lot to learn from the experiences of Scotland (where welfare administration is devolved) and the welfare powers are significant enough to make a big impact on poverty levels.
Mark Isherwood MS (Con, North Wales) emphasised the need for people who have a lived experience of welfare to be involved in the design and delivery of new systems – though he picked up on a point from witnesses that devolution in itself wouldn’t improve things automatically.
Huw Irranca-Davies MS (Lab, Ogmore) said over the last ten years, the UK welfare system has become more punitive. Contesting the Welsh Government’s response, he believes the report presented a practical way forward with plenty of considered evidence to support a case for devolution and nobody argued that the welfare system should be devolved in its entirety.
Delyth Jewell MS (Plaid, South Wales East) believed compassion should be built into the system and when working for Citizens Advice she saw how universal credit, in particular, was broken. Welfare administration powers would help aid the Welsh Government in closing loopholes that see people fall through gaps in support – using an example of eligibility for hardship funds to cover funeral costs.
Important to raise awareness of the support that’s already available
Deputy Minister for Housing & Local Government, Hannah Blythyn (Lab, Delyn), listed a number of ways in which the Welsh Government has assisted people through the pandemic. These measures mainly focused around making people more aware of the support they may already be entitled to, as well as providing emergency funding and support for food banks.
Acknowledging the committee members’ disappointment, the Deputy Minister thought the reaction to the government’s response was unfair. The government is well aware of how important welfare is in controlling and reducing poverty – which is why further research has been requested.
“I would like to make clear that we wholeheartedly recognise as a government that devolving certain powers relating to elements of social security could provide us with a wider range of tools to tackle poverty, which is why we asked the Wales Centre for Public Policy to undertake the work in this area in the first place and we will continue to look at the evidence and also include the evidence of this committee in our work.”
– Deputy Minister for Housing & Local Government, Hannah Blythyn
