First Minister urged to publish UK government letter

Local TV

After saying she will reserve her judgement on recent UK benefit cuts until she understands the full impact, she was written to by UK minister Liz Kendall, but the contents of that letter remain a mystery.

Transcript

00:00Just last week the First Minister said she was reserving her judgment on recent benefit cuts

00:06imposed by the UK government until she knew the full extent of the impact on Wales. She

00:11since received a letter from Liz Kendall explaining what impact assessment took place but she has so

00:16far refused to reveal the contents of that letter. Something the Tory leader Darren Miller says is a

00:20pattern of a lack of transparency from Eluned Morgan. So I don't think there's a lack of

00:25transparency in relation to Covid and as I've just mentioned I have no problem at all in Liz

00:35Kendall publishing that letter and I hope she'll do so this afternoon. Publishing the letter is a

00:42hot topic for Welsh politics and it's not just the Tories as Plaid Leader Srinath Iorwerth says

00:47that not publishing the letter makes it look like there's something to hide. Publishing that response

00:52is rather important and if she won't release it will she at least acknowledge that just as in the

00:59scrutiny committee last week she is exposing this Labour government's absolute lack of fights on

01:05behalf of the people of Wales. Do you know what my mother studied at a Saunders Lewis and he gave

01:14her a tip once. Learn to listen. Did you not listen to what I said? I don't have a problem

01:23with that letter being published and I'm hopeful that it will be published this afternoon. It's

01:28not mine to be published but I'm hopeful it will be published this afternoon. But what I know, what

01:35I know is that there are people in this country who are suffering who need us to stand by their

01:44sides. The people affected by the welfare cuts can be forgotten about among all the politics and the

01:50Plaid Leader wants the First Minister to remember that there is far much more at stake than just the

01:55will she won't she over the letters contents. The First Minister would probably be happy with some

01:59of the newspaper headlines last week. Says First Minister refuses to back welfare cuts but I'll

02:05tell you what I find quite deplorable. That headline could just as easily have said the First

02:11Minister refuses to condemn the welfare cuts. We've got Save the Children and Action for Children

02:18saying this is a political choice of the most vulnerable children. 50,000 more children into

02:24poverty. Resolution Foundation lower income households £500 a year poorer. Barnardo's a

02:29bad situation made even worse. Are they all wrong First Minister or are you reserving judgments on

02:34that as well? Look I'm really pleased the UK government has committed to invest an additional

02:42billion pounds a year to build towards a guarantee of personalised support when it comes to employment.

02:49I think that's really constructive that's standing by people that's following the kind

02:54of approach that we have in relation to youth and employment.

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