One of the main problems with universal credit is that it is paid to households rather than to individuals, and I will focus on that aspect for a few moments. Only one person can be in receipt of the funds on behalf of the household, so there are issues of equality arising immediately from that because it is likely that it’s the male that will receive that money in most cases, not always, of course—not by any means—but in most cases probably. This will increase the financial reliance of women on men and will militate against the fact that men and women are equal. Women’s right to financial independence is a fundamental right—a right that is undermined through universal credit. It’s therefore a significant retrograde step in seeking full equality between men and women—an effort that some of us have been involved with for 40 years and more. The journey towards full equality is painfully slow as it is. And any retrograde step in this regard—and this what this is—should be criticised by this Assembly and, more importantly, we must change it and use the powers that we could have here in order to change that. Benefits should be paid to individuals, and not to households.

One aspect of this causes great concern. Paying the benefit to one person in a household can mean that some women can be held in an abusive relationship. With the man taking the payment, then that man has the power, and if that man is abusive towards his wife or partner then it’s very difficult for the woman. Those in favour of universal credit argue that there is a mechanism to counteract that, but that’s naïve in my view. Half of the women who are abused fail to leave the relationship because of financial abuse. A woman may remain in an abusive relationship because of concerns of serious financial consequences for her if she were to leave.

The money itself can increase abuse. One partner can withhold money from another using financial power in an unacceptable way. Under universal credit, if a couple separate, then one person has to inform the DWP. Well, the person in receipt of the benefit isn’t going to be willing to make that notification, so in most cases, again, it’s the women who will have to do that and will be caught out by the process at times. A new application has to be made, which will take at least five weeks to be processed. For a woman without access to money and possibly childcare responsibilities, time is everything, and making a new application isn’t always a priority when you’re fleeing for your life or are concerned about the safety of your children. If the benefit were to be paid to individuals, then you wouldn’t have to go through that bureaucratic process of registering when couples separate.

Now, of course, if we did have the right to administrate benefits ourselves in Wales, we could change that. We are talking about administration here, not having the right to create new benefits; we’re not talking about funding, but the administration. And having those levers could be a means of creating a fairer system. Yes?