10. Will the Minister provide an update on the impact of the UK Government’s welfare reform on Wales? OAQ(5)0030(CC)

I thank the Member for Torfaen. The most recent research undertaken by the Institute for Fiscal Studies on the impact of welfare reform and changes to personal taxes estimates the overall annual loss in Wales to be around £600 million.

I’m sure you’re aware, Minister, of how worried Welsh Women’s Aid are about the changes to the decision to cap local housing allowance. Will you comment on that action and will you take this opportunity to reiterate your support for the excellent work that Women’s Aid refuges do throughout Wales? Given that the changes are going to be deferred for a short period, will you commit to taking every opportunity to press the UK Government to exempt women’s refuges from these proposals?

I thank the Member for her question and, of course, I pay tribute to the many support services for people suffering from domestic violence, and other causes are supported through Wales and across the UK. I’m very concerned that supported accommodation, including women’s refuges, is not exempt from the local housing allowance cap. We have made representations to the Department for Work and Pensions. I do hope that this pause in the appointment of this policy may give the Minister some pause for thought with regard to this and they’ll change their mind as regards this provision.

Of course, one of the ways we can mitigate the effects of UK welfare reform on Welsh communities is to begin developing a unique Welsh system in its place. I was very grateful to the Cabinet Secretary for his positive response, before the summer recess, to a suggestion of developing ‘Social Security Cymru’ as a concept that is backed up by maximising the opportunities we have with existing powers, but also to look at drawing down further welfare powers from the British state in the future. I wonder if the Cabinet Secretary can outline his intentions in terms of taking that idea forward.

Interestingly, I had discussions this morning about that very issue. But, the primary concern about this was about the financial settlement that we have to receive from the UK Government. Of course, to date, we haven’t had much luck with the agreement of a financial settlement that is the right and appropriate amount for Wales, whereas Scotland have had a different agreement. I’m sure, given the opportunity for that settlement to be in the right space, the Minister for finance would be happy to discuss with me other aspects of the devolution of powers that could come to this Assembly.

Following the introduction of recommendations in their ‘Dynamic Benefits: Towards welfare that works’ report, the Centre for Social Justice has pointed out that more people are employed than ever before, less people are claiming benefits and UK unemployment is at a record low of 4.9 per cent. Of course, we know Wales has a good record and story on that. However, Wales’s economic inactivity rate for working-age people not in employment is still almost 3 per cent higher than for the UK. What consideration, therefore, will you give to doing things differently and to considering what might work elsewhere—Scotland, England or beyond—in order to close that gap?

Indeed, I think giving people opportunity and ambition is something that the Government is keen to support, and that’s why our 100,000 apprenticeship programme will be rolled out from the skills department of this Government. The issues around supporting people back into work are something that I concentrate on in my department, too. There are things that we often disagree on, but I think we can share the importance of giving people hope. Jobs and skills are something that we both, hopefully, agree on.

I’ve recently been contacted by a constituent who is affected by young-onset dementia, and she was advised to give up work and put in an application for personal independence payments. My constituent was left feeling distressed and devalued as her assessment solely focused on physical capability and not her mental health needs. Do you agree, Cabinet Secretary, that this is unacceptable and that it highlights that the UK Government’s social security reforms are not fit for purpose, and will you raise these concerns in all relevant discussions with the DWP?

I thank the Member for her question. I understand that, to be eligible for PIP payments, a person must have a long-term health condition or disability, which include mental health conditions and, particularly, progressive conditions such as dementia. I will ask my officials to seek further clarity from the Department for Work and Pensions on how they undertake their assessments for PIP for people with mental health conditions, and perhaps the Member may wish to write to me specifically about this case, and I will take that up for her.

I thank the Cabinet Secretary.