Part of 1. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Finance – in the Senedd at 1:31 pm on 18 April 2018.
I thank the Member for that supplementary question. We're making nearly £6 million available this year to support organisations such as Citizens Advice, Shelter and Age Cymru to provide advice across Wales on social welfare issues, including maximising household income and managing household debt. Between April and December of last year, citizens advice bureaux helped 43,000 people in that category and helped to bring £28 million in additional income to those families here in Wales.
I completely agree with the Member that debt is inevitably associated with high levels of stress and difficulties in other parts of people's lives. I am involved in discussions with local government in Wales about council tax debt. Council tax debt is meant to include an identification of whether a household is vulnerable for other areas. Some local authorities in Wales do this very well. Some local authorities in Wales have no policy at all on vulnerability, so there is certainly ground to be gained not simply in funding, but in the way that these services are discharged on the ground.