North Wales MS Mark Isherwood has this afternoon given his backing to a Bill which would ensure that more money ends up in Welsh people’s pockets by increasing take up of Welsh and local authority support payments.
Mr Isherwood has long been calling for a 'coherent and integrated’ Welsh benefits system, and in this afternoon’s meeting of the Welsh Parliament, his Party supported the following motion:
To propose that the Senedd:
1. Notes a proposal for a Take-up of Benefits Bill.
2. Notes that the purpose of the Bill would be to:
a) ensure that more money ends up in Welsh people’s pockets by increasing take up of Welsh and local authority support payments;
b) place a duty on all public sector organisations to maximise take-up of Welsh and local authority benefits;
c) require public bodies to streamline and make consistent throughout Wales the method of application for such benefits.
Speaking in the Debate on the Bill Mr Isherwood, said:
“Speaking at the ‘Policy Forum for Wales Seminar on Reducing poverty in Wales - welfare reform, local approaches and long term strategies’ in March 2019, I noted that ‘Community Housing Cymru have called on the Welsh Government to respond positively to their call for Welsh Government and Local Authorities to work with Job Centre Plus in Wales to co-locate services and enable applications for Local Authority benefits to be made at the same time as Universal Credit’.
“Speaking here in September 2020 in the ‘Debate on the Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee report Benefits in Wales options for better delivery’, I welcomed the Welsh Government’s acceptance of our Recommendations that it ‘establish a coherent and integrated Welsh benefits system for all the means-tested benefits for which it is responsible….co-produced with people who claim these benefits and the wider Welsh public’ – and that it use ‘the Oxfam Sustainable Livelihoods approach toolkit’. I added, however that ‘we now need words turned into real action, so that at last things are done with people, rather than to them’.
“Speaking here in January 2021, I asked the First Minister how he responded ‘to the calls by the Bevan Foundation, Citizens Advice Cymru and Community Housing Cymru for the Welsh Government to establish a single point of access for benefits and support schemes administered in Wales?’.
“And speaking here in July 2021, I challenged the Welsh Government on the actions it had taken to establish a 'coherent and integrated’ Welsh benefits system as recommended in the 2019 Committee Report on ‘Benefits in Wales’, and asked the Trefnydd, who was answering questions on behalf of the First Minister: ‘what action has the Welsh Government therefore taken since to turn its words into real action?’.
“We will be pleased to support the motion as drafted according.”