Written question WQ88553
- Asked by
- Joel JamesConservative
- To be answered by
- Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
- Tabled
- Due
- Answered
- Time to answer
- 5 days
Question
Will the Minister provide details of the assessments made by the Welsh Government of the potential to save money in NHS and social service budgets by rolling out a basic income for care leavers in Wales?
Answer
Answered by Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip
The pilot is designed to support care leavers to make a positive transition from local authority care. The expectation is that this will enable care experienced young people to establish firm foundations for their adult lives, on the same basis as every other young person in Wales.
The pilot is being evaluated by a team at Cardiff University, led by Professor Sally Holland. The evaluation has an economic evaluation component which will aim to identify and measure the costs and outcomes of the pilot. Potential savings arising from having a lower level of recourse to public services by participants will be considered as part of the evaluation.
At this stage in the pilot and given the innovative and its distinctive approach, it is not possible to estimate the likely cost savings to NHS and social care budgets.