Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 6:01 pm on 6 December 2017.
I'm winding up. I do not support the devolution of welfare or the administration of welfare to Wales. The devolution of welfare benefits to the Scottish Government has transferred the associated financial risk, with the demand for welfare benefits growing faster per head in Scotland than in England from the point of devolution. For Wales, this would pose a significant and unacceptable financial risk, and the costs associated with administering the welfare system would take resources away from the front-line delivery of services.
So, to conclude, as I've already said, we will be opposing the Conservative amendment, and, I have to say, the Conservative contribution fails to acknowledge the scale of the problems that have already been identified. And, as set out in our amendment, we believe that were we to take on administrative responsibility for social security without substantial additional funding from the UK, it would simply transfer additional financial burdens to the Welsh Government and create an unfulfillable expectation that the Welsh Government would be able to make more generous provisions for claimants.