The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, , has written the following to the First Minister of
Wales regarding welfare reform and its impact in Wales.
Dear Eluned
Thank you for your letter regarding our plans to fix the broken
benefits system. I would also like to acknowledge the
comprehensive letter from your Cabinet Secretary for Social
Justice.
To raise living standards in every corner of our country, we need
to unleash the talents of the British people no matter where they
live. However, the system we inherited has left millions of
people trapped on benefits, without the support they need to
build a better life.
As the people of Wales know all too well, many of these
challenges are concentrated in places which were decimated in the
80s and 90s when whole industries closed. 15% of working age
people in Wales receive a disability or incapacity benefit –
significantly higher than in England – and around a quarter are
neither in work nor looking for work.
We know many sick and disabled people want to work, with the
right help and support. They deserve the same rights, chances and
choices to get good jobs as anybody else. That is why we are
fixing the social security system so that it gives those who
could work the help they need, and those who can't work the
dignity and security they deserve. As a constituency MP for 14
years, I know there will always be people who cannot work due to
the severity of their disability or health condition. That is why
we will ensure our social security system is sustainable so that
it can protect them, now and for the long-term.
We are also supporting the Welsh Government as you lead the
design of a Get Britain Working Trailblazer, backed by £10
million of funding, to explore how work, health and skills
support delivered by the Welsh and UK Governments can best be
joined up to help people move towards and into work. Longer term,
we are committed to devolving non-Jobcentre Plus employment
support funding to the Welsh Government.
You will have now seen that alongside the Spring Statement, we
have published an Equality Analysis, and Impacts document to
complement the Spring Statement measures announced, some of which
form part of the Pathways to Work Green Paper.
The purpose of this analysis is to understand the overall impact
of the measures where they are the responsibility of the UK
Government (Great Britain for Universal Credit and England and
Wales for PIP). The Equality Analysis is undertaken to understand
the impact on policies of the whole package on people with
protected characteristics, which does not include region or
country breakdown. It is worth being aware that it does not
include the positive impacts that we expect our £1bn investment
into employment support to have – and we know that, for many
families, good work is the best route out of poverty. We will
work with you on the specific impacts on Wales, as well as how we
protect people who need it, and how we support people back to
work through the extra funding Wales is getting.
As you rightly pointed out, the Green Paper is the beginning of
the conversation and not its end point. We want to hear from a
wide range of people during the 12-week consultation period. This
will start after all accessible versions of the Green Paper have
been published, and will include accessible virtual and face to
face events, in line with our commitment to put the views and
voices of disabled people at the heart of everything we do.
We will continue to work with the Welsh Government to understand
the views of people in Wales and are keen to hear their views
through the online form, email, post and accessible events (in
both English and Welsh).
I look forward to meeting with you as part of the further
conversations our two governments will take forward on this. I
believe a meeting is also being arranged between the Cabinet
Secretary and our Minister for Transformation to discuss
non-Jobcentre Plus employment support funding in Wales, as well
as the Green Paper, next week. And we also look forward to
receiving a response from the Welsh Government on the proposals
in the Green Paper. Together, we will give everyone the support
they need to fulfil their potential and achieve their
ambitions.
I am copying this letter to the Secretary of State for
Wales.
Best wishes,
The Rt Hon MP
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
