Written question WQ84117

We are committed to supporting information and advice services to ensure that some of the most vulnerable people in our society have access to the free and impartial advice that they need in order to resolve problems with their housing, welfare benefits and in managing their financial commitments.

The funding we have provided has ensured that during last financial year[1] (Single Advice Fund services have helped over 127,000 people to deal with 286,666 social welfare problems.

Advice services are invaluable in helping people navigate through the benefit system to understand what they may be entitled to and how to claim. People receiving advice from Single Advice Fund services during the last financial year on their welfare benefit entitlements were supported to gain additional income of over £43 million.

During the first half of this financial year Single Advice Fund services helped 50,796 people who were supported to gain additional income of over £17.4million

Credit unions provide vital access to responsible credit and savings for people who are financially excluded and Welsh Government provides financial support in recognition of that.

We are concerned that the acute pressures on household incomes are forcing struggling families to look for credit at whatever cost, in order to try to balance household budgets. Additional funding has been released this winter to raise awareness of affordable credit provided by credit unions and will help to mitigate the significant risk that people who are financially excluded will turn to high cost lenders or illegal lenders.

As a non-devolved matter, Welsh Government engages with partners such as the LINK network to maintain the provision of free-to-access cash in Wales. LINK runs a Financial Inclusion Programme to protect access to cash in more deprived communities. The Programme has been improving access to cash since 2006 by providing subsidies to ATM operators.

On 28 January 2020 the town of New Tredegar in Caerphilly became the first location in Wales to receive a new free to use ATM, as part of a commitment to ensure every high street in the UK has free access to cash. To date, there have been more than 200 requests from across Wales and LINK is expecting to install more machines in addition to those already installed[2] as a result of the scheme.

We continue to use our influence with the banking sector and UK Government to ensure that banking services in Wales are maintained.

I am to meet shortly with senior figures from several high street banks to make the case for continued access to free cash and banking services and to halt the loss of the services in Wales. Replacing high street services with online-only is not a suitable alternative for many including the digitally excluded.

The Community Access to Cash Pilots final report has recently been published. One of the pilot areas was Hay-On-Wye, a heavily cash-dependent community. When I meet with the banks I will be interested to hear their plans to arrest the decline in services, through innovative banking provision such as cash-back facilities and banking hubs.

[1] April 2020 to March 2021

[2] The community request initiative has now installed free-to-use ATMs in New Tredegar, Bedlinog, Harlech, Hay-on-Wye, Ystrad, Pendine, Llandegfan, Caerleon, Newcastle Emlyn, Abertillery, Efail Isaf