Social security administration in Wales is currently managed at a UK level, but there is growing interest in what devolving this function could mean in practice. 

The Welsh Government commissioned Alma Economics to explore the opportunities, challenges, and risks associated with devolving aspects of social security administration to Wales, and to develop a strategic roadmap to inform future prioritisation and decision-making. 

A mixed-methods approach was used, combining a Rapid Evidence Assessment (REA), an online survey and in-depth interviews with stakeholders to map evidence on impacts, costs, and implementation risks.  

The research was delivered in three phases:  

An initial scoping phase to define policy priorities and evaluation criteria;

Phase 1 to synthesise evidence and identify promising options through an REA, survey data, and interviews with 14 stakeholders;

Phase 2 to develop three detailed case studies, including two cases for specific options in Wales and a comparative case from Scotland, supported by 12 additional interviews.

Our research found that administrative devolution of social security to Wales could support benefit take-up and make services more flexible, but its impact is limited without control over policy and would likely require additional investment to deliver positive impacts. It would also require significant additional investment and involve complex negotiations with the UK Government. 

The findings provide the Welsh Government with clarity on the potential path forward, including the issues and challenges that would need to be addressed, and support wider discussions on how to build social security systems that work better for the people who need them most.

Read the report here.