8. How is the Welsh Government tackling poverty in the Rhondda? OQ55974

I thank Leanne Wood for that question, Llywydd. We tackle poverty in the Rhondda through a series of programmes that place or leave money in the pockets of those who most need it. Since April of this year, for example, the discretionary assistance fund has made over 11,000 awards in Rhondda Cynon Taff, providing £1 million to those who would otherwise have gone without.

First Minister, poverty was an acute problem in the Rhondda before the COVID pandemic hit, and things have got considerably worse for many people since. I know that because I run a food share scheme where demand is increasing and it's relying on some fantastic volunteers to do some pretty essential anti-poverty work. And we also know that the situation is soon to get worse with the changes that will be made to universal credit. Now, Plaid Cymru believes that a universal income could be a way out of this. The current piecemeal system of grants and financial support has meant that many, many people have fallen through the gaps. Now, Westminster will not look at this, so would you be prepared to consider a basic income pilot? And if you would be prepared to consider that, would you consider a location for that to be in the Rhondda, in an area where need is clearly quite great? 

Llywydd, I thank the Member for that question. I've always, myself, been interested in universal basic income. Again, I've discussed that with a number of Members around the Chamber here, and indeed I discussed it in some detail with the Scottish National Party leader of Glasgow City Council, where an attempt at a pilot was being mounted. She described to me some of the real practical difficulties that there are, given the interface between a basic income provided by a devolved Government and the benefit system, and I think that a pilot approach is the right one to try to be able to explore in a practical way what those barriers might be. Whether it is best to do it on a geographical basis or whether it is better to do it on a sectoral basis, choosing a group of people—that was the approach, at the time, that Glasgow was exploring—a particular group of people and then mounting a pilot scheme with them, I think, is something that we should debate and discuss further. And I also think, Llywydd, that the whole basic income debate needs to join with those people who argue that a universal basic service guarantee would actually do more for people who rely on public services than simply a basic income. But this is a rich area for policy debate and exploration, and I think it would be very good if we were able to have that on a cross-party basis here in Wales.