Morgan doesn't know 'direct effect' of welfare cuts

The Welsh government still does not know how welfare cuts announced in Wednesday's Spring Statement will affect Wales, the first minister has said.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced benefit changes, including tightening qualification rules for Personal Independence Payments (Pips), the main disability benefit, claimed by more than 250,000 working aged people in Wales.

Eluned Morgan wrote to UK Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall on 11 March requesting a Wales-specific impact assessment.

However, on Wednesday, Welsh Labour leader Morgan told the BBC: "We still haven't heard how directly that's going to affect Wales, which is disappointing."

Earlier, in her statement, Reeves told MPs "it can't be right" some people were improperly using Pips but a trade union body said "many disabled people" in Wales would be pushed into hardship and called for a rethink.

The Welsh Conservatives called Labour the party of "stagnation" and Plaid Cymru accused Reeves of targeting the vulnerable.

Updating MPs on the state of the UK economy, the Labour chancellor said a "changing world" meant that more needed to be spent on defence.

She promised an extra £2.2bn for defence spending, benefitting places such as Newport in south Wales, which is a hub for high tech semi-conductors, and Deeside – home of the Airbus aerospace company.

On welfare spending, Reeves said "it can't be right" to "write off" an entire generation who are out of work and improperly using Pips and rules would be tightened.

More than 14% of working age people in Wales, about 275,000 people, claim Pip.

She confirmed that health-related universal credit for new claimants, which was already due to be halved from April 2026 under a package announced last week, will now be frozen at its new lower level of £50 per week until 2030.

Currently around 150,000 people in Wales claim the health element of universal credit.

• Health-related universal credit for new claimants, which was already due to be cut from £97 to £50 per week from April 2026 under measures announced last week, will now not rise with inflation until after 2030

• Under-22s will no longer be able to claim the incapacity benefit top-up

• As outlined last week, for existing claimants health-related payments will be frozen at £97 per week until 2030, with a new top-up payment introduced for those with the most severe conditions

• A rise in the £92 per week standard allowance for universal credit has also been slightly pared back, and will rise to £106 by 2030, instead of £107

• There will also be a stricter eligibility test for personal independence payments (Pips), the main disability benefit, from November 2026

When BBC Wales pointed out to Morgan how long ago she had requested an impact assessment for Wales, she replied: "You can tell they've been pretty busy up there, but we'll keep pressing to know exactly how that will impact us."

"We know it's likely to have a greater impact [in Wales] than it is on some parts of England."

Morgan went on to say that the Welsh government would now look to help people claim the benefits they are entitled to.

"There's £2bn worth of benefits that are unclaimed in Wales, and we're going to help people to access those benefits."

Addressing the wider economic picture, Morgan said the situation was "less gloomy than we expected".

"That's a positive, but the key thing for me is that we've got to offer hope."

On whether the chancellor was genuinely offering people hope, the first minister replied: "What she wants to do is to provide stability in terms of the economic situation."

Asked if when Labour returned to power at Westminster she thought she would have to defend welfare cuts, Morgan said: "These decisions the UK government have made."

"What I can tell you is what I'm doing as a Welsh government.

"We've put in some additional funding today into helping people to claim the benefits they are entitled to."

Questioned on BBC Radio Wales on the lack of a Wales-specific impact assessment, Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens said: "Welfare, obviously, is a reserved policy reserved to England and Wales, so the policy is for England and Wales.

"The impact assessment that has been published today is for England and Wales."

"There are figures available from the DWP [Department for Work and Pensions] about who claims what type of benefits in Wales but the important thing about the welfare reform is that we are investing into welfare."

UK minister Stevens said the "system is broken" but people would now be offered the support they need.

The Welsh secretary added: "I am very pleased that the first minister has welcomed in her letter to Liz Kendall the reforms that we are making."

Welsh Conservative Senedd finance spokesperson Sam Rowlands said: "Rachel Reeves' first Budget resulted in a shrinking economy and with it, a fiscal deficit, but sadly her emergency budget today will fail to correct Labour's mistakes.

"By choosing to raise taxes on businesses and farming families, Labour have proven that they are not the party of work, nor the party of growth. They are the party of stagnation," he added.

Plaid Cymru MP Ben Lake accused Labour of bringing back "austerity".

In a statement, the party's economy spokesperson at Westminster said: "Instead of taxing the ultra-wealthy and closing tax loopholes, the chancellor is targeting the vulnerable with deep cuts to welfare that will drive poverty and inequality in Wales.

"For all the pain inflicted on communities there seems to be little economic gain: the OBR analysis suggests these measures will encourage lacklustre growth at best."

The OBR, or Office for Budget Responsibility, is the independent watchdog that assesses government spending and taxation.

Welsh Liberal Democrat MP David Chadwick said: "The government could have raised money instead by asking the big banks, social media giants and online gambling companies to pay their fair share".

"The Spring Statement also shows that this government does not understand our rural communities at all.

"They've refused to cancel the cruel family farm tax."

Shavanah Taj, general secretary of the trade union umbrella body TUC Cymru, warned "many disabled people – whether they are in work or not – will be pushed into hardship" and called for a rethink.

"Ministers should look at the people beyond the policy. Disabled people in Wales need to be involved in decisions about their care, and they need support to be able to work," she said.

"Disabled people need accessible workplaces, personalised help and support and opportunities for decent work with fair pay."

Additional reporting by Mark Palmer