Correspondence

Secretary of State letter to the First Minister of Wales

Published 1 April 2025

THE RT HON LIZ KENDALL MP  

Secretary of State for Work & Pensions  

Caxton House  

Tothill Street  

London, SW1H 9AJ   

28 March 2024  

Dear Eluned  

Thank you for your letter regarding our plans to fix the broken benefits system. I would also like to acknowledge the comprehensive letter from your Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice. 

To raise living standards in every corner of our country, we need to unleash the talents of the British people no matter where they live. However, the system we inherited has left millions of people trapped on benefits, without the support they need to build a better life. 

As the people of Wales know all too well, many of these challenges are concentrated in places which were decimated in the 80s and 90s when whole industries closed. 15% of working age people in Wales receive a disability or incapacity benefit – significantly higher than in England – and around a quarter are neither in work nor looking for work.  

We know many sick and disabled people want to work, with the right help and support. They deserve the same rights, chances and choices to get good jobs as anybody else. That is why we are fixing the social security system so that it gives those who could work the help they need, and those who can’t work the dignity and security they deserve. As a constituency MP for 14 years, I know there will always be people who cannot work due to the severity of their disability or health condition. That is why we will ensure our social security system is sustainable so that it can protect them, now and for the long-term. 

We are also supporting the Welsh Government as you lead the design of a Get Britain Working Trailblazer, backed by £10 million of funding, to explore how work, health and skills support delivered by the Welsh and UK Governments can best be joined up to help people move towards and into work. Longer term, we are committed to devolving non-Jobcentre Plus employment support funding to the Welsh Government. 

You will have now seen that alongside the Spring Statement, we have published an Equality Analysis, and Impacts document to complement the Spring Statement measures announced, some of which form part of the Pathways to Work Green Paper.  

The purpose of this analysis is to understand the overall impact of the measures where they are the responsibility of the UK Government (Great Britain for Universal Credit and England and Wales for PIP). The Equality Analysis is undertaken to understand the impact on policies of the whole package on people with protected characteristics, which does not include region or country breakdown. It is worth being aware that it does not include the positive impacts that we expect our £1bn investment into employment support to have – and we know that, for many families, good work is the best route out of poverty. We will work with you on the specific impacts on Wales, as well as how we protect people who need it, and how we support people back to work through the extra funding Wales is getting. 

As you rightly pointed out, the Green Paper is the beginning of the conversation and not its end point. We want to hear from a wide range of people during the 12-week consultation period. This will start after all accessible versions of the Green Paper have been published, and will include accessible virtual and face to face events, in line with our commitment to put the views and voices of disabled people at the heart of everything we do. 

We will continue to work with the Welsh Government to understand the views of people in Wales and are keen to hear their views through the online form, email, post and accessible events (in both English and Welsh). 

I look forward to meeting with you as part of the further conversations our two governments will take forward on this. I believe a meeting is also being arranged between the Cabinet Secretary and our Minister for Transformation to discuss non-Jobcentre Plus employment support funding in Wales, as well as the Green Paper, next week. And we also look forward to receiving a response from the Welsh Government on the proposals in the Green Paper. Together, we will give everyone the support they need to fulfil their potential and achieve their ambitions. 

I am copying this letter to the Secretary of State for Wales. 

Best wishes,  

The Rt Hon Liz Kendall MP 

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions