Jane Hutt MS, Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Trefnydd and Chief Whip
I represented the Welsh Government at the inaugural meeting of the 4 Nations Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG) on Work and Pensions on 26 June. This was chaired by Andrew Western, Minister for Transformation for DWP, UK Government. This inaugural meeting provided an opportunity for Ministers from the UK Government, Scottish Government, Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Executive to get together for the first time to talk about matters of mutual interest in the fields of employment support, disability, social security, child maintenance and pensions.
The terms of reference were formally agreed at the start of the meeting and it is anticipated they will be published on the dedicated Intergovernmental Relations page of the UK Government website.
Discussion focussed on the Pathways to Work green paper and the Get Britain Working white paper. I raised concerns on the potential for a disproportionate impact of the proposed changes to Personal Independence Payment eligibility criteria in Wales and the importance of listening to the individuals who this will affect. There was agreement on continued engagement on this matter across all four nations.
With regards to employment support, I highlighted the importance of ensuring alignment with existing programmes noting the successes of our community employability support and our Young Person’s Guarantee in gaining trust from people in Wales.
I also raised the need to ensure we communicate regularly to share lessons learnt and the significance of timely and accurate data sharing which will enable us to achieve the shared goal of supporting more people into employment.
A communiqué is expected to be published on the UK Government’s website in the near future.
Subsequent to the IMG meeting, on 1 July the DWP Minister for Social Security and Disability confirmed that Clause 5 would be withdrawn from the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill meaning that any changes to the eligibility criteria for PIP would be considered following the completion of the PIP review.