Unsustainable: debt fuelled by the rising cost of living

The Welsh Government must work with councils to address the shortcomings identified in the review of the Council Tax Protocol, and the concerns of stakeholders as highlighted by this Committee, as part of its broader programme of reform. [...] While the changes announced to the DAF came after we had completed most of our evidence-gathering, the Bevan Foundation welcomed the changes particularly to uprate payments in line with inflation.40 The WLGA said that the flexibilities introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic had been “extremely responsive to the needs of the most vulnerable as the cost of living pressures have increased.”41 35 ROP. [...] We note that the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has concluded that the measures announced in May 2022 had “not been sufficient to stem the tide of rising hardship” for people in the bottom 20% of the income distribution, especially those on Universal Credit.42 Approach of the Welsh Government The Welsh Government has spent considerable sums of money supporting vulnerable people and those on the lowest. [...] The Bevan Foundation in its Foreword to the report calls on the Welsh Government to make better use of existing data to increase the uptake of grants and allowances in the short term and to create an implementation group to take forward other longer term recommendations. [...] The Welsh Government must work with councils to address the shortcomings identified in the review of the Council Tax Protocol, and the concerns of stakeholders as highlighted by this Committee, as part of its broader programme of reform.