The opposition Plaid Cymru group on Caerphilly County Borough Council has welcomed a ‘U-turn’ from the Welsh Government on council tax benefit cuts.
A funding gap of £22m, which would have affected 20,500 households in Caerphilly County Borough, has been plugged by the Labour-controlled Welsh Government. The financial hole was caused when the UK Government devolved responsibility for the benefit but slashed funding by 10%.
Labour’s Welsh Ministers previously said there was no money available to plug the gap, meaning average cuts to people on the benefit of £67.
Group leader Councillor Colin Mann said: “We’re delighted that the Welsh Government has seen sense following pressure from Plaid Cymru over the last nine months. It is important to protect pensioners and other claimants from the cuts at this very difficult time for household budgets.
“It has taken a long time for the Welsh Government to come to the assistance of the people of Wales, but better late than never. The decision by the Welsh Government to fill the gap means thousands of households in the county borough will not see a cut in their income, averaging £67.”
The 20-strong group had called on the authority to urge the Welsh Government to make good the cuts and not to pass them on to those individuals who receive council tax benefits. It also strongly condemned the actions of the UK Coalition Government cutting benefit payments.
Finally! It was ridiculous that you had Tory-run local authorities in England providing more protection for council tax benefit claimants than a Welsh Government elected on a promise of 'standing up for Wales.'
As Colin Mann said 'better late than never' but it must be embarrassing for Carl Sargeant and Carwyn Jones that (a) they failed to commit to funding the shortfall in the first place and (b) they were forced into a climbdown through opposition pressure.
I read the above comment by `Gareth`, I thought, and thought again, and I can find little to disagree with in relation to the sentiments expressed.
I am not an apologist for, in this case, a seriously out of touch, flawed, and ill-thought out policy by the Welsh Labour Party, but, and whatever the official spokesmen say about their ` change of heart` on the issue of this Hardship Tax imposed by a UK government on the citizens of Wales, the Welsh Assembly have performed a very neat and welcome policy u-turn.
The Labour Party have to realise there is no disgrace in admitting when they have ` got it wrong` and, after they show political sense when they reverse, revise, or completely alter decisions which are found to have been flawed.
This decision is a u-turn under any measure and the Welsh Labour Party should be loud and proud to admit it.