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Factual information on Welsh Government policies
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2024

Anti-Racist Wales Action Plan

Communities

Claim: ‘Racist’ dogs banned from the Welsh countryside

There are no plans to ban dogs from the countryside and any suggestion otherwise is inaccurate and a complete misrepresentation of this report which sought to understand what information was already available on the relationship between ethnic minority people and environmental matters and where there were evidence gaps.

It gathered information directly from ethnic minority people in Wales. Comments highlighted by the media are feedback from people asked their views and not Welsh Government proposals. 

The Welsh Government is committed to creating an anti-racist nation by 2030. Our Anti-racist Wales Action Plan is built on the values of anti-racism and calls for zero tolerance of all racial inequality.

An anti-racist Wales | GOV.WALES

The Labour Market

Across government, Economy

Claim: The labour market in Wales is performing worse than the UK

Labour Force Survey (LFS) estimates published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that, since the pandemic, although the unemployment rate in Wales has generally remained below the UK rate, Wales has also generally had lower employment and higher economic inactivity than in the UK, with the gap between the two countries for these measures fluctuating over this time.

However, these figures are particularly volatile for Wales and provide an uncertain view of the labour market when viewed in isolation.

The current headline labour market statistics, which look at rates of employment, unemployment and economic inactivity, are classified by ONS themselves as ‘official statistics in development.’

The ONS also confirms that they are facing challenges in maintaining response rates to the LFS, affecting the reliability of its data.

The best way of understanding the performance of the Welsh labour market is to consider longer term trends across a basket of indicators including other data sources such as the Annual Population Survey, HMRC real time information on paid employees, data on workforce jobs, and the claimant count.

Evidence from these data sources suggests that the labour market in Wales has followed similar trends to the UK as a whole since the pandemic.

Further information on the challenges, updates and current badging of the LFS are available in a Chief Statistician’s update on the labour market estimates for Wales.

Road User Charging

Transport

Claim: ‘Welsh Government to devolve powers over pay-per-mile car tax to local councils’

Powers over road user charging already lie with local authorities in Wales. The Welsh Government has no plans to introduce user charging on the roads it is responsible for and there has been no change to the policy.

More information: Eich cyf (senedd.wales)

NHS Waiting Times

Health and Social Care

Claim: ‘Patients’ and ‘pathways’ are the same thing when addressing NHS waiting lists

Each month, the Welsh Government publishes the latest statistics on NHS activity and performance, with data provided by Digital Health and Care Wales and the Welsh Ambulance Service Trust.

The data typically counts the number of times an NHS service is used. It is a common misconception that this is a count of the number of patients who used the service.

A patient pathway opens when the hospital receives a referral from GPs or other healthcare professionals. The patient’s waiting time starts at this point. Patients with complex needs may have referrals for multiple types of treatments so may have more than one pathway opened. 

While it may seem that terms like ‘patient pathways’ and ‘patients’ are interchangeable, the key difference is that the same patient might use NHS services many times. A single patient is only counted once in a patient measure but may be counted many times in a patient pathway measure.

This means that the number of patients waiting for NHS services is always lower than the number of patient pathways that are open. Using measures like patient pathways therefore allows us to measure the full scale of NHS activity in a way that counting “patients” only wouldn’t.

More information can be found at: Chief statistician’s update: explaining NHS activity and performance statistics | Digital and Data Blog (gov.wales)

Income Tax

Finance

Claim: ‘Welsh Government plans to increase income tax in Wales‘

The Welsh Government has no plans to increase rates of income tax.

During an appearance at Finance Committee on Wednesday 25th September 2024, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance made it absolutely clear that – whilst all devolved taxes are considered as part of the annual budget process – with many people still struggling with the cost-of-living, raising income tax is not something that will be recommended.

20mph Speed Limits

Transport

Claim: ‘There is no evidence that the 20mph speed limit has reduced casualties‘

The Welsh Government publishes quarterly road collision data on 20mph and 30mph roads. This data includes information on which police force area collisions occurred in, available through the interactive dashboard for each release: Police recorded road collisions: interactive dashboard | GOV.WALES.

The latest quarterly figures show that in January to March 2024, road casualties on 20mph and 30mph roads (combined) were 19% lower than in the previous quarter (463) and 26% lower than in the same quarter in 2023 (510). This number has generally been declining over the last decade but is the lowest figure recorded in Wales outside the COVID-19 period.

Transport for Wales’s Default 20mph Speed Limit on Restricted Roads report shows that average speeds on main roads dropped an average of 4mph – from 28.9mph to 24.6.

The principal objective of the policy has always been to reduce casualties and help people feel safer in their communities. We will continue to monitor the long term trend but things are heading in the right direction.

Basic Income Pilot

Communities

Claim: ‘Wales is giving £1,600 a month to illegal migrants‘

The Welsh Government’s Basic Income for Care Leavers pilot was designed to support children in Wales when leaving care at 18 years old. The aim of the pilot was to provide this group with the best possible start in life. The programme had very specific eligibility criteria. 

The pilot was open from July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023, for those turning 18 during this period and having been in local authority care for at least 13 weeks between ages 14 and 18. This includes young people living outside Wales who are supported by local authorities in Wales.

Participants receive £1280 per month (£1600, pre-tax) for a duration of 24 months from the month after their 18th birthday.

As of July 31, 2024, 644 individuals benefited from the basic income payment, including 74 current or former unaccompanied asylum-seeking and refugee children. They are not ‘illegal migrants’ but children who arrived in Wales without parents or guardians and were looked after in the care system.

More information can be found at: Basic income pilot for care leavers | GOV.WALES

Relationship and Sexuality Education (RSE)

Education

Claim: The Welsh Government is ‘teaching sex education to three-year-olds‘

The claim that the Welsh Government is ‘teaching sex education to three-year-olds’ is inaccurate.

The Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) Code outlines the mandatory curriculum for schools in Wales, ensuring age-appropriate education. The RSE Code provides clear guidance so that children only learn about subjects suitable for their age and development.

For early years, the focus is on fostering healthy relationships, building self-esteem, recognising and communicating feelings, and forming friendships. These lessons do not include romantic relationships.

The curriculum supports children’s emotional and social development appropriately.

More details can be found at Curriculum for Wales: Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) Code