Streamlining Welsh Benefits Steering Group meeting: 29 January 2025

Steering Group members    

Fran Targett, Chair
Nigel Griffiths, Bridgend CBC
Amanda Main, Caerphilly CBC
Joanna Goodwin, CDPS
Simon Hatch, Citizens Advice Cymru
Helal Uddin, EYST
Matthew Evans, SRO Group Chair (first meeting as Chair)
Victoria Winckler,  The Bevan Foundation
Katie Till, The Trussell Trust
Claire Germain, Welsh Government
Lindsey Phillips, Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA)
Lisa Hayward, Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA)

Also in attendance

Adam Hardy, CDPS
Poppy Evans, CDPS
Adrian Devereux, Welsh Government
Angela Endicott, Welsh Government
Ben Gibbs, Welsh Government
Caroline Shaw, Welsh Government
David Willis, Welsh Government
Joanna Leek, Welsh Government
Mel James, Welsh Government
Micheal Viney, Welsh Government
Paul Neave, Welsh Government

Apologies

Sean O’Neill, Children in Wales
Emma Willis, WLGA
Victoria Lloyd, Age Cymru
Leah Whitty, Welsh Government
Miranda Evans, Disability Wales
Rachel Thomas, Children’s Commissioner
Rachel Bowen,Older People’s Commissioner

The Chair provided an update on recent activities since the last meeting. The Show and Tell session, highlighted as a significant achievement, seeing attendance from all the 22 local authorities. The very positive session provoked great thought and discussion with potential for more practical sessions in the future to continue this engagement.

The Chair updated on a recent meeting with the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Trefnydd and Chief Whip on 23 January, also attended by the new Chair of the SRO Group and described it as very positive and encouraging. The Cabinet Secretary is eager to see progress as soon as possible and understands the complexities involved. Issues raised included financial implications, eligibility thresholds, and benefit increase rates in Wales. The Cabinet Secretary emphasised the importance of understanding these financial implications to inform future discussions with the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Welsh Language. 

The new Chair of the SRO Group mentioned his recent appointment as of January 2025. The Chair provided feedback from the meeting with the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Trefnydd and Chief Whip on 23 January. He mentioned the importance of using available levers to progress the Streamlining Welsh Benefits (SWB) work and the need for a more transformational approach, including digital solutions.

The SRO Chair highlighted the SWB work means different things to different people and stressed the need to break down barriers. He noted the good practice already within local authorities.

At the recent Show and Tell event the Chair raised the issue regarding the current legislation in place around Free School Meals (The Education Act 1996) and the requirement to make an application. He mentioned a project from York University on auto-enrolment and whether similar approaches could be considered for Wales. The SRO Chair suggested future Show and Tell events to be around 90 minutes in duration to allow more time for discussion.

Comments were received on opportunities to draw out savings and good practice and having a clear trajectory for the future. It was noted initial engagement was negatively affected by the misconception of a single system across all local authorities, however this has started to be rectified now and events like the Show and Tell have helped.

The Chair stressed the importance of making benefits easily accessible to those who are entitled and focusing on the claimant's experience. She acknowledged the need for good administration to support both claimants and deliverers and capturing and spreading best practices. She noted the commitment from all Steering Group members to achieving the best outcomes for claimants and appreciates the dedication of local authorities in advancing this work.

As part of Phase One of the SWB work, an integrated project is being developed by the Centre for Digital Public Services (CDPS). The project involves creating a user-friendly prototype for stakeholders to interact with to simplify the claimant experience. The goal is to gather feedback, identify issues, and find the best solutions. As part of this work CDPS will recruit claimants for research to understand their needs and test assumptions, aiming to ensure the solution aligns with claimants' needs.

Collaboration with stakeholders from the Welsh public and third sectors is essential. CDPS will create user journeys for fictional claimants with different needs to shape user experiences. Prototypes will be developed to show what these user experiences might look like. Diagrams will outline the potential actions, processes, and resources that local authorities might use to deliver these experiences.

The project aims to be completed within the financial year, though there are risks of delays due to the complexity of the topic and the involvement of third parties.

The Chair acknowledged the usefulness of this work alongside the SRO Group's efforts. A comment was made around the benefits of gathering different local authorities' experiences and a suggestion to share the project's details with the SRO Group to avoid misconceptions about creating a single system. Citizens Advice Cymru and Trussel endorsed this project and expressed their support in offering assistance with user research from their respective organisations.

The importance of collaboration with local authorities and policy leads in the Welsh Government was stressed.

Action Point 1: Core team to share CDPS presentation slides to the Steering Group members.

The pilot was introduced as part of the ongoing work with local authorities to maximise residents' income, noting significant overlaps with the SWB project to ease access to Welsh benefits.

The Cabinet Secretary has allocated a budget to help local authorities analyse their data. A contract was awarded to Policy in Practice to work with 12 Welsh local authorities using the Low-Income Family Tracker (LIFT) tool, which analyses data from various sources to identify residents potentially missing out on benefits.

The pilot project aims to clarify how data can be used legally, ensuring local authorities can confidently share data internally and with other departments. The project is expected to result in increased financial support for residents and valuable insights for all 22 local authorities. Two additional local authorities, already engaged with Policy in Practice, will also participate in the project board to share their perspective although they are not being funded by Welsh Government.

The Chair acknowledged the connection between the data pilot and the SWB project. Interests in the project's potential to increase funding for residents and the learning opportunities it presents were expressed. The importance of seeing actual increases in income was raised along with concerns about the potential impact on the benefit bill in Wales. The SRO Chair noted the importance of legal data sharing and the challenges it presents, particularly regarding DBS checks for staff handling sensitive data. Sharing learning across all 22 local authorities and not just those participating was also raised as an important benefit of the project.

The importance of recognising actual income gains, overcoming data-sharing hurdles and sharing learning across different pieces of work was discussed.

The Steering Group members discussed their preferred methods of being updated on progress now the Route Map and priorities are agreed. It was proposed using simple highlight reports would be useful and being mindful not to create an extensive new reporting mechanism. The highlight report should link to the route map and indicate if any tasks have moved to delivery. The highlight report should cover priorities, tasks, and progress noting progress will vary for different local authorities.

The importance of highlighting key issues, risks, and developments was mentioned along with the need to clarify the reporting process, including who will create and coordinate the highlight reports, and suggestion for project leads to provide verbal updates during meetings for more dynamic discussions. Quarterly updates were agreed, and the format of the reports was discussed, emphasising the need for appropriate communication.

It was acknowledged the core team needs to map the projects against the Route Map and identify gaps and dependencies. The reporting mechanism developed should be focussed on quarterly outcomes and needs to consider communicating progress beyond the Steering Group. A RAG (Red, Amber, Green) status to provide succinct updates and identify progress, barriers and blockages was proposed.

The core team will develop a reporting mechanism and seek feedback from the Steering Group to ensure it meets their needs. The Group agreed to proceed with this approach via correspondence, to refine it based on their experience with the first iteration. Members are encouraged to send any examples to the core team.

Action Point 2: Core team to develop highlight report and share with Steering Group members for comment and reiteration. 

Action Point 3: Members to share any examples to the core team.

It was acknowledged the risk register is outdated and needs refreshing, particularly since the work has moved away from workstream activity to the route map with quarterly outputs.

Some of the risks related to UK Government welfare landscape were suggested to be downgraded or merged since there are no significant changes expected.

A complete revamp of the risk register was proposed to align it with the Route Map and resulting from discussions at this meeting.

The Chair agreed the need for a revised risk register and suggested written responses for feedback. The main risk was identified as delivering the route map and outputs without achieving meaningful results. Also highlighted was the importance of clear communication, both internally and externally, to ensure stakeholders understand the project's benefits and the progress.

The focus on communication was supported, noting its importance given the current political landscape and recent criticisms. Members agreed to a revised risk register to be shared for feedback via email, avoiding the need for an additional meeting unless necessary.

Action Point 4: Core Team to work on a revised risk register to be shared with Steering Group members.

The minutes were reviewed for accuracy (28/11/2024) and agreed. The Chair confirmed the Children’s Commissioner and the Older People’s Commissioner have both been invited to join as members and both have agreed to send representatives from their organisations to future meetings.

The Chair suggested moving to quarterly meetings. Should any urgent issues arise, an interim meeting could be convened or handled via correspondence and the Chair will be approached in the first instance. The Group agreed to this approach, and potential dates for the next meeting will be proposed by the core team. The meeting concluded with thanks to all participants for their input and hard work.

Action Point 5: Core Team to propose date of next meeting and thereafter on a quarterly basis.