1. The Bevan Foundation develops new ideas based on sound evidence to make Wales fair, prosperous and sustainable. It is an independent, non-aligned charity. In the last two years it has made a significant contribution to public policy in Wales on:
· the outlook for Welsh society by 2020;[1]
· how to reduce poverty and inequality;[2]
·
devolving UK Government benefits and services for people of
working age.[3]
2. We welcome the opportunity to contribute to the Committee’s forward work programme.
Local Government
3.
Wales faces multiple, major challenges in the next five
years as set out in our report ‘The Shape of Wales to
Come’, including how to represent the interest of
Wales’ varied communities and improve public services.
4. We welcome the Committee’s proposal to scrutinise the new proposals for local government reorganisation and reform anticipated in autumn 2016. However we consider that the scrutiny should be widened to include:
· the role and purpose of local government;
· ways of strengthening and supporting local democracy and accountability;
· enhancing innovation in local public services;
·
reforming local government finances.
5.
The Committee’s scrutiny should recognise that local
authorities are a separate and distinctive sphere of government
with their own electoral mandate.
Tackling Poverty
6.
Poverty in Wales is already at a high level and UK forecasts
are that poverty is likely to increase in the coming years. Poverty
blights lives and costs the public purse in Wales approximately
£4.4 billion a year. Poverty is not inevitable – there
is growing evidence on ‘what works’ to reduce it, and
to this end the Joseph Rowntree Foundation with input from the
Bevan Foundation will be publishing its anti-poverty strategy for
the UK and its constituent nations shortly.
7.
We welcome the Committee’s proposals to scrutinise
policy and legislation on poverty in Wales, and to hold the Welsh
Government to account. In view of the importance of poverty in
Wales and the damage and cost that it causes we urge that the
Committee devote considerable resources to the issue. In
doing so, we suggest that the Committee builds on the valuable work
undertaken by its predecessor and we therefore welcome the
proposals to consider the effectiveness of Communities First,
in-work poverty and welfare reform. In taking these proposals
forward, we would suggest:
·
Communities First: the scrutiny of Communities First should include complementary
initiatives such as Flying Start, Families First and Supporting
People.
·
In-work poverty: the scrutiny of in-work poverty should be a joint inquiry with
the Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee, given the
critical importance of the economy and employment to in-work
poverty.
·
Welfare reform: the scrutiny should focus on the Welsh Government’s
response to changes that have already been implemented and their
impact on devolved matters, in particular housing. This is broader
than the ending of the spare bedroom subsidy / bedroom tax and
includes the benefit cap and the restriction of Local Housing
Allowance for under-35 year olds.
The Committee should also consider changes which are ongoing or
forthcoming e.g. the roll-out of Universal Credit, transition to
PIP, the potential devolution of Attendance Allowance and changes
to benefits for young people aged 16-24. It should also scrutinise
the delivery of benefits devolved recently e.g. help with council
tax and the discretionary assistance fund.
8. In addition, we suggest that the Committee scrutinises:
· the effectiveness of existing legislation and policies on child poverty (including the target to eradicate child poverty by 2020);
· the impact and relevance of the Welsh Government’s financial inclusion strategy in reducing poverty.
Equality of opportunity and human rights
9.
Our analysis of changes in equality and human rights for the
Equality and Human Rights Commission[4] showed that there had
been very little improvement on most issues since 2010 and that on
some key issues inequality and abuse of human rights had increased.
The extensive analysis of statistical and other evidence means the
findings are highly relevant to the Assembly’s and Welsh
Government’s equality and human rights priorities. The
Committee might wish to scrutinise the Welsh Government’s
equality priorities in the light of the findings.
10. Leaving the European Union and the UK Government’s plans to scrap the Human Rights Act will have important implications for people in Wales, the National Assembly for Wales, the Welsh Government and other public bodies. We recommend that the Committee scrutinises the likely impact of Brexit and changes in UK legislation for legislation and policy on human rights in Wales.
Housing, community regeneration, cohesion and safety
11. The next five years is likely to bring increasing difficulty
accessing suitable and affordable housing, and changes in the
economy and employment are expected to pose significant
difficulties for some communities many of which are already
disadvantaged.
12. We welcome the Committee’s proposals to scrutinise the
operation of new homelessness duties and to revisit the question of
housing supply. In doing so we would urge the Committee to
recognise the very significant variations in housing markets within
Wales, from ‘hot spots’ to areas of low demand. In the
light of migration, refugees and asylum seekers and the vote to
leave the EU, we would also suggest that the Committee considers
the effectiveness of arrangements in place to support community
cohesion and safety.
13. We would welcome the opportunity to submit evidence to the
Committee at any time.
[1] Bevan Foundation (2015) The Shape of Wales to Come: Wales’ economy, environment and society in 2020.
[2] Bevan Foundation (2015) Proposals for a National Programme to Spread Prosperity and Improve Life Chances by 2020
[3] Bevan Foundation (2016) Making welfare work for Wales: Should benefits for people of working age be devolved?
[4] EHRC (2015) Is Wales Fairer?