Shadow Minister for Communities and Local Government, Mark Isherwood AM, has called on the First Minister to respond to calls for the Welsh Government and Welsh Local Authorities to work with Jobcentre Plus in Wales to enable applications for local authority benefits to be made at the same time as the first appointment for Universal Credit.
Mr Isherwood raised the matter with Mark Drakeford in the Assembly Chamber yesterday, but was disappointed that in his response the First Minister chose to point score rather than respond to calls for his own Government to take action.
Mr Isherwood said:
“Every year, the Councils in Wales receive Discretionary Housing Payment money from the Department for Work and Pensions, and, last year, Merthyr Tydfil, Rhondda Cynon Taf and Anglesey were criticised for handing money back that should have gone to people who receive housing benefit or Universal Credit and need extra help with rent or housing costs. Commenting on this, Merthyr Tydfil said that, 'Sending this money back is not a bad thing for us. Our benefits numbers are shrinking—the applications are approximately half of what they were last year'.
“How, therefore, do you respond to concern expressed this week by Community Housing Cymru that, as support for housing costs is now included within the Universal Credit payment, there is no longer a need for interaction with the Local Authority in order to claim mainstream benefits, and this makes it less likely for claimants to access Local Authority benefits they might be entitled to, such as Discretionary Housing Payments or council tax reduction or free school meals?
“They call on the Welsh Government and Welsh Local Authorities to work with Jobcentre Plus in Wales to co-locate services and enable applications for Local Authority benefits to be made at the same time as the first appointment for Universal Credit.”
The First Minister agreed about the importance of Discretionary Housing Payments and said he hopes all Local Authorities in Wales use that fund to the maximum possible extent, but then dodged the call made by Community Housing Cymru by shifting the blame to the UK Government.
He said:
“While I understand what Community Housing Cymru has said this week, the real problems are not in the hands of local authorities or housing providers; they are inherent in the flawed benefit that is being rolled out and in the way that the UK Government seeks to move responsibility for providing decent and sustained advice to people who need it in order to make sure that their basic rights to a decent place to live and enough money to eat are sustained.”
Mr Isherwood added: “Responsibility for providing decent and sustained advice on devolved benefits remains with the Welsh Government and Welsh Local Authorities. It is concerning that this new First Minister is already choosing to point score rather than respond to independent calls for his own Government to take action”.
ENDS