Local Authorities

Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government – in the Senedd at 1:58 pm on 15 December 2021.

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Photo of Rebecca Evans Rebecca Evans Labour 1:58, 15 December 2021

Thank you for raising that, and, of course, the Bevan Foundation report was a difficult read, really, in terms of ensuring that we do understand the level of pressures that many families are facing, and these pressures are only getting more difficult with the cost of living increases, the cost of fuel and so forth, and all of the challenges that surround families during the pandemic. So, we've worked really closely with local government and I'm so grateful to them for being able to deliver our winter fuel support scheme when they're doing so much else at the same time. So, hats off to them for creating the capacity to do that.

We're looking to support families in a whole range of ways, including the additional funding we've provided through our discretionary assistance fund. So, that's a £25.4 million fund, which includes an extra £10.5 million this year, and that's there to support people who are facing financial hardship, and we've increased the number of times that people can access that fund over the course of the year. And that will be really, really important in supporting those families and individuals who have been affected by the withdrawal of the universal credit £20 uplift. So, I would just commend that fund to colleagues and invite you to find out more about that fund so that you can direct your constituents, who might be struggling, to that fund, because it's certainly there to help everybody who finds themselves in a situation of need. It's a relatively light-touch kind of fund to try and get that money to people who need it as quickly as possible.