Welsh Government Council Tax U-Turn

Plaid Cymru Llambed  welcomes news of the Welsh Government's U-turn on council tax benefit - following campaigning by Plaid Cymru. It means that over 6,000 people in Ceredigion, many of whom are working will be better off. The UK government decided to devolve council tax benefit to the Welsh Government from April 2013, but only devolved 90% of the funding - now the Welsh Government has decided to follow the SNP's lead in Scotland and make up the shortfall

Elin Jones, the Plaid cymru AM for Ceredigion welcomed the news today.“This U-turn by the Welsh Government is a very welcome development, and follows months of campaigning by Plaid Cymru to ensure that those currently in receipt of Council Tax Benefit aren’t forced to fund the shortfall themselves.

“The SNP government in Scotland planned to take action on this very matter as soon as the funding cut was revealed by the Westminster Treasury, and it’s a shame that the Welsh Government didn’t take similar action at the very beginning.

“Of course, we would not be in this position if the Westminster Government wasn’t insisting on reducing the amount of funding provided for the Council Tax Benefit scheme by 10 per cent. Our public services have already been bearing the brunt of the public spending cuts and the focus has now shifted to social security payments. Unfortunately, I fear that the situation only will get worse over the coming months”.