, Finance Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session 4
Victoria, we were talking a bit about winter fuel allowance issues, especially for older women in particular, but also the benefits charter. Do you have any thoughts, or anything that’s coming through your network or the budget group?
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session 4
The Welsh benefits charter was published back in January last year. I wonder what your thoughts are on that. Has the charter done what it committed to do or not? And I don't know if I want to start with Simon or go to Victoria or Natalie. I'd be interested in…
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session 4
And as a gateway into other forms of help, that's a real issue as well. Speaking to older people who are marginally over—£1, £2, £3 even—the threshold, it's a hard cut-off. Are you seeing that sort of thing in your call centres?
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session 4
With the announcement on the winter fuel allowance by UK Government, have you seen that—? What’s been your experience in advice centres? Have you seen more people coming to you on that aspect, or what’s that experience been, because as an organisation, you’ve…
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session 4
And, Simon, from your point of view then, anything you'd like to add?
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session 4
Victoria, you probably agree with a fair bit that you've heard, so in the interests of time, if you don't necessarily repeat, but if there's any extra or anything else that you've seen within the budget, if you'd care to comment.
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session 4
Looking on to the budget this year then, and I'll probably ask the same to others, have you seen any lessons learnt in what you've seen from the draft budget for this next one, anything that's giving you a little bit of hope?
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session 4
Fantastic, croeso. Welcome to you this morning. We've got an hour or so with you and appreciate you making yourselves available, and there will be a transcript for you afterwards as well, just to check for accuracy. I'd like to—. Obviously, we're talking…
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session 4
Fantastic, croeso.
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session 4
Fantastic, croeso.
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session 4
Welcome, good morning. Would you introduce yourselves for the record, please, and we'll start with yourself?
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session 4
Welcome back. We've reset the room and are pleased to see our witnesses here for the fourth evidence session.
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session 3
Thank you very much for your time. It's great to see you here giving your opinion on the budget. There will be a transcript for you to check for any inaccuracies—let us know. We'll take a short break now to reset the room. Thank you.
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session 3
Thank you very much, everybody, for that. That brings us way over time, but as always, very interesting.
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session 3
David, did you want to come in on that? I'm just conscious of time, that's all.
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session 3
I want to move on to some questions about tax policy. We've got about five minutes left. I'll come on to some questions from Mike Hedges on tax policy.
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session 3
David, you go first and then Guto.
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session 3
And obviously that’s a concern to local government, and I understand that you haven’t done any analysis on that, but anything that you might do in the future would be of interest to this committee. David, did you want to come in on that?
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session 3
I suppose it’s the variation in the formula that’s an average rather than a top and a bottom.
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session 3
Diolch. Diolch, Mike. I'll bring Sam in now.
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session 3
David.
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session 3
Guto.
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session 3
David, sorry, yes. Sorry.
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session 3
Mike.
, Finance Committee
Welsh Government Draft Budget 2025-26: Evidence session 3
Diolch yn fawr. Thank you. At that point, I'll bring Mike Hedges in. So, if we can—. There we are. Mike.
