TWEAKING THE WELFARE BILL WON’T WORK

Plaid Cymru publish response to UK Government welfare consultation

Plaid Cymru has published its response to the UK Government’s Pathways to Work consultation, condemning Labour’s proposed welfare reforms as “a direct attack on some of the most vulnerable people in our society” and “an insult to the post-industrial Welsh communities Labour claims to represent.”

The party’s Work and Pensions spokesperson Ann Davies MP said the proposed Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill would cause “grave hardship” to disabled people, particularly young people with mental health conditions, and risks replicating the worst injustices of previous Conservative regimes.

Plaid Cymru has criticised the concessions announced on 26 June – including exemptions for existing PIP claimants and temporary protections for some UC recipients – as "inadequate sticking plasters on a fundamentally flawed agenda." The party warned that creating a two-tier system between existing and future claimants does not eliminate injustice, but delays and redistributes it.

Wales, where around 30% of the population is disabled and the poverty rate among disabled adults is among the highest in the UK, stands to suffer the most. Yet the Labour UK Government has refused to publish a Wales-specific impact assessment.

Ms Davies said that “if the Welsh Government have a backbone, they will oppose this terrible bill in its entirety.”

Ann Davies MP said:

“The current system already fails too many people. But instead of meaningful reform that helps the sick and disabled play the most active role possible in society, the Labour Government’s plan is to make it even harder for disabled people to access vital support. This is a direct attack on some of the most vulnerable people in our society, and an insult to the post-industrial Welsh communities Labour claims to represent.

“The so-called concessions announced this week are no more than sticking plasters on a fundamentally flawed bill. There is no fairness in protecting existing claimants while penalising those who become disabled in the future. People do not choose when to get sick or disabled, and so arbitrary cutoff dates make no sense.

“These proposals would cause grave hardship to disabled people and young people with mental health conditions, and they risk replicating the worst injustices of past Conservative welfare systems.

“The economic hit to Wales will be disproportionate, and the Labour UK Government’s refusal to publish a Wales-specific impact assessment is a slap in the face to the people of Wales. If the Welsh Government have a backbone, they will oppose this terrible bill in its entirety.

“The UK Government may have offered short-term concessions, but tweaks around the edges won’t fix a broken system. What we need is investment in inclusive employment, individualised support, and long-term savings through genuinely fair welfare – not cuts that push people further into hardship.

"Our response to the consultation outlines why Plaid Cymru MPs will be voting against this Bill at second reading next week."

- Ends - 

Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working - Plaid Cymru Consultation Response

D-Day 81st Anniversary

Friday was the 81st anniversary of the Normandy landings that re-opening the western front and ensured with the Russian drive from the east the destruction of the Nazi state within less than a year. 

We should remember all those who fought for freedom in Normandy on 6 June 1944, those who came back, and those who gave their lives and never returned. Along with all those who worked at home and overseas to secure the victory over fascism and the peace that followed.

MOVING THE GOALPOSTS

The latest NHS performance data shows Labour Government in Wales missing targets on countless measures despite having moved the goalposts on NHS waiting times. .

Latest NHS activity and performance summary released today (Thursday, 22 May 2025) for March and April 2025 has shown the Labour Government in Wales have missed a vast series of targets aimed at reducing waits in the Welsh NHS.

One significant target missed is the First Minister’s target to reduce two year waits to 8,000 by the Spring of 2025, a target set after missing the Welsh Government’s initial target of eradicating two year waits by March 2023. The Welsh Government have been accused of “moving the goalposts and still missing” by Plaid Cymru’s health spokesperson, Mabon ap Gwynfor.

A series of other historical targets are still being missed by the Welsh government. These include:

• Target: No one waiting for longer than a year for their first outpatient appointment by the end of 2022 (a target established in the planned care recovery plan).
• Reality: the number of pathways waiting longer than one year for their first outpatient appointment was 71,000
• Target: maximum wait for access to specified diagnostic tests is 8 weeks, and maximum wait for access to specified therapy services is 14 weeks – to be achieved by Spring 2024.
• Reality: 35,200 patient pathways were waiting longer than the target time for diagnostics and 4,000 patient pathways waiting longer than the target time for therapies.
• Target: No patients waiting longer than one year in most specialities by Spring 2025
• Reality: Of the total pathways, 155,800 were waiting more than one year

The Government has also missed a series of rolling targets, including:

• Target: 65% of red calls (immediately life-threatening, someone is in imminent danger of death, such as a cardiac arrest) to have a response within 8 minutes.
• Reality: Only 50.9% of red calls arrived within 8 minutes
• Target: 95% of new patients should spend less than 4 hours in emergency departments from arrival until admission, transfer or discharge.
• Reality: Only 67.7% of patients spent less than 4 hours in emergency departments
• No patient waiting more than 12 hours in emergency departments from arrival until admission, transfer or discharge.
• In April, 10,186 patients waited 12 hours or more in emergency departments.
• Target: 95% of patients waiting less than 26 weeks from referral.
• Reality: Only 55.2% of patients have been waiting less than 26 weeks.
• Target: No patients waiting more than 36 weeks for treatment from referral.
• Reality: 268,400 patient pathways had been waiting more than 36 weeks (34.0%)
• Target: At least 75% of patients should start treatment within 62 days (without suspensions) of first being suspected of cancer.
• Reality: Only 63.5% of pathways started their first definitive treatment within 62 days of first being suspected of cancer.

Plaid Cymru have criticised the Labour Government’s mismanagement of the NHS over the last 26 years of power, accusing them of running the Welsh NHS into ‘the ground’, by ‘constantly’ missing targets with ‘no real sign of change’.

Plaid Cymru spokesperson on Health, Mabon ap Gwynfor MS said: 

"Hundreds of thousands of people on waiting lists, over 8,000 of those waiting over two years. The fact that any Government is trying to claim that as a win, is a sign of how far down the road of Labour mismanagement we are.

"A record of constant failure and missed targets - that is the record of this Labour Government when it comes to our NHS. A record of people waiting too long, not getting the service they deserve – a record of failure.

“Even after moving the goalposts from their original target of eradicating two-year waits in 2023, Labour have still managed to miss their targets. Not only that, but on every single performance indicator – Labour have missed their targets.

"An NHS run into the ground, and waiting lists as long as this simply isn’t as good as it gets for Wales, our NHS can be so much more than this. With a new government with a credible plan for our NHS, a plan to reduce waiting lists and reform our NHS for the future. That is what Plaid Cymru offers in 2026."

- ENDS -