Select committee: Welsh Affairs Committee
Conclusion 22
Fourth Report - The Benefits System in Wales
Published 17 Mar 2022
Paragraph 130
Addressed to Wales Office
Welsh Affairs Committee The Benefits System in Wales All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
We welcome efforts to improve awareness among claimants of all UK Government, Welsh Government, and local authority support, but written evidence suggests that there is still a long way to go. People requesting help need to feel confident that they have been informed of all the benefits and grants available to them, rather than miss out on any because they didn’t know what questions to ask or found the system too The Benefits System in Wales 45 complex to navigate. Evidence we have received suggests that the approach taken in Scotland, where the UK Government and the Scottish Government worked together to produce a toolkit for Work Coaches, could prove a useful model.
From: Welsh Affairs Committee, Fourth Report - The Benefits System in Wales (HC 337), paragraph 130, 17 March 2022
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 6 July 2022 (deadline 17 May 2022).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The UK Government rejects several of the Committee's main recommendations, including reinstating the £20 uplift, changing benefit up-rating and devolving social security, while describing existing action on others.
- On the £20 uplift and up-rating, the Government "rejects" both recommendations, saying the uplift "was always intended to be temporary" and that annual up-rating follows the Consumer Prices Index in the year to September.
- On Statutory Sick Pay, it is "keeping the system under review", says any changes "will be announced to Parliament", and will not provide a further update to the Committee.
- It "rejects" the proposed UK-Welsh government Inter-ministerial Advisory Board on Social Security, citing existing ministerial engagement channels, and has "no intention to devolve social security" to the Welsh Government.
- On Universal Credit consent, it says "to pause to run a formal consultation exercise at this stage" would delay work, while welcoming input through ongoing stakeholder discussions.