Cliciwch yma am y Gymraeg
After examining national and international evidence on the important services to alleviate poverty, the barriers in accessing them and how to address them, the Working Group Members chose to focus on practical and financial support. This research question focuses on more localised evidence to understand what practical and financial support services are currently available for families living in RCT.
As the Working Group members chose to focus on practical and financial support services, we drew on organisational data, population data and professional knowledge to answer this question. We collected evidence on the services delivered by public and voluntary sector organisations in RCT, how they are accessed, and uptake data, where available.
Public sector support
The local authority delivers a variety of services relating to its core areas of responsibility, including council tax, education and housing. Annex 2 outlines available data on the services for each of these areas, including eligibility, access, support provided and uptake in RCT.
Individual online application forms are required to access most services described below, although the application for Council Tax Reduction and Housing Benefit has been streamlined into a single process. While there are online options available, Officers told us that the majority of contact made to the council in relation to practical and financial support services is by phone. Extra help in accessing services and completing application forms is provided at One4All centres, located at five locations in RCT (by appointment).
Many benefits administered by the council also share similar eligibility criteria, meaning that many of those eligible for Housing Benefit or Council Tax Reduction, for example, would also be eligible for Free School Meals, and consequently the School Essentials Grant. However, details do not transfer across application forms, meaning that families must prove they are eligible by submitting evidence on multiple occasions. Officers informed us that one reason why this may happen is that applications for these initiatives are processed by different teams within the council, limiting the data sharing that can occur. Some legislative barriers remain in terms of how some benefits can be claimed (primarily in relation to free school meals), though efforts are underway at a Welsh Government level to streamline this process as far as possible, and many local authorities are making progress despite these constraints (Welsh Government, 2021).
Council Tax
The Council Tax Reduction Scheme can help those on low incomes to pay for all or part of their council tax, depending on circumstance. Support is available to those both unemployed and working. If a household receives certain benefits, they are entitled to 100% support when assessed and are known as ‘passported’ (Welsh Government, 2024c). However, this does not include those on Universal Credit. Those with capital greater than £16,000 may also not be eligible for any reduction. Around 22% of households in RCT receive some form of reduction, which is the fourth highest rate of any local authority in Wales (Welsh Government, 2024c). This consists of 23,398 households, of which over 85% receive a full reduction, although only 43.5% of all cases receive a passported benefit.
Education
All primary school-aged children are eligible for Universal Free School Meals. However, those who register for eligibility-based free school meals are also eligible to receive a School Essentials Grant of £125 (or £200 in Year 7), to help fund uniform, equipment and activities (Welsh Government 2025a). In order to be eligible, families must receive one of a list of benefits, including Universal Credit (though if working, earnings must be less than £7,400). Although there are quality issues with the data, the 2021/22 school census indicated an indicative uptake rate of 77% for eligibility-based free school meals; this was also taken before the implementation of Universal Free School Meals.
All 92 primary schools and three special schools in RCT provide a free breakfast club for children before the start of the school day. This is a universally provided service for nursery and primary school aged children, providing they have a successful application, due to the number of adults available to supervise. Around 5,000 breakfasts were served weekly in September 2023 in RCT.
Those aged between 16 and 18 years old at the start of the school year and studying a course up to Level 3 at a school or college may also be eligible for Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA). This is administered by Student Finance Wales and is income-based: with household income of £23,400 or less if they are the only young person in the household, or £25,974 if there is more than one. This entitles them to a £40 per week payment for remaining in education, with 1,370 approved applications in RCT for the 2023/24 academic year. Given the income-based criteria, the vast majority of those previously eligible for eligibility-based free school meals, and the School Essentials Grant could claim EMA, but have to apply individually.
Housing
Housing Benefit can provide support up to the full value of rent to those on a low income, though there are multiple eligibility criteria. Data on the breakdown of claimants in RCT highlights that while there are 7,253 claimants of Housing Benefit in RCT, only a very small proportion (119 claimants; 1.6%) have dependent children (Department for Work and Pensions, 2025b). However, Housing Benefit has now been absorbed into the housing-costs related element of Universal Credit, which is administered by the Department for Work and Pensions, rather than by local authorities (Wilson and Hobson, 2021). A far greater proportion of those claiming housing-related costs through Universal Credit in RCT have children: of the 13,752 claimants, 61% have at least one child (Department for Work and Pensions, 2025b). It should however be noted that the amount received varies across RCT, as the payment is made based on a Broad Rental Market Area, meaning those living in the Cynon Merthyr area receive more than those living in the Taff Rhondda area.
For those requiring short-term support with housing costs, Discretionary Housing Payments can help to cover shortfalls in rent, or costs in moving home such as deposits or advance payments. It is unclear how many families were awarded this support, but around £470,000 was paid across RCT in financial year 2022-23 (Department for Work and Pensions, 2025c).
Energy efficiency grants are also available, with the Heat and Save Grant for owner-occupiers offering up to £5,000 in renovation costs, and the ECO 4 Flex Scheme offering grants through registered installers until March 2026. For those on certain benefits, the Warm Homes Discount Scheme also provides an automatic £150 saving on energy costs.
Other public sector support
The Healthy Start scheme offers pregnant mothers and those with young children receiving certain benefits support to purchase milk and healthy food, including fruit and vegetables and pulses, as well as free vitamins. 71% of eligible families in RCT have claimed this benefit, which involves money being added to a prepaid card every four weeks.
For those facing extreme financial hardship, the Welsh Government also offers two hardship grants, which do not need to be paid back. The Emergency Assistance Payment (EAP) can help pay for essential costs including food, fuel and emergency travel, while the Individual Assistance Payment (IAP) can help supply white goods and furniture for those moving home. In 2024, 20,652 EAP grants were made, along with 625 IAP grants (Welsh Government, 2025b).
Current efforts to improve access
There are current and ongoing efforts to improve how families access practical and financial support services in RCT. This is occurring through the Welsh Government’s Streamlining Welsh Benefits project, as well as through the Low-Income Family Tracker (LIFT).
There is a shared commitment between local authorities in Wales and the Welsh Government to encourage residents to maximise their income and claim all the support to which they are entitled. However, it is currently often complicated to both understand what is available, and to apply (Welsh Government, 2024b). The Streamlining Welsh Benefits project will first focus on three benefits: the Council Tax Reduction Scheme (CTRS), Free School Meals, and School Essentials Grant, aiming to build on existing good practice within local authorities and ensuring that people across Wales only need to provide information and supporting evidence once (Welsh Government, 2024b). This involves identifying duplication and clarifying how data can be shared within local authorities and with agencies such as His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs and the Department for Work and Pensions, which remain under the control of the UK Government. While this work is ongoing, with the first phase expected to finish in April 2026, there may still be work that can be done within RCT to maximise the connectedness between Council-administered services, thereby improving uptake.
One way in which RCT council are currently aiming to improve uptake locally is using the Low-Income Family Tracker (LIFT). RCT is one of fourteen local authorities in Wales piloting the use of LIFT, in partnership with Policy in Practice (Welsh Government 2025c). LIFT is a software tool that has already been used by some local authorities in England and aims to compile data from multiple sources to create a picture of households in a local area and what they might be entitled to (Local Government Association, 2024b). For example, LIFT reports can highlight the number of households who may be suitable targets for discretionary housing payments, eligible for Healthy Start vouchers, or in council tax arrears with a cash shortfall (Policy in Practice, 2025). Further understanding how the tool is currently being used in RCT and its other potential applications could help tailor support to families and focus communications on those most likely to be eligible and in need of support.
Voluntary sector support
Voluntary sector organisations play a key role in supporting communities in Rhondda Cynon Taf, extending statutory service provision. The Council’s RCT Together team leads on partnership working with community groups, voluntary organisations and the wider voluntary sector to build more resilient communities.
Citizen’s Advice RCT offers a range of advice services on a range of issues, including welfare queries and specialist debt advice. They also provide targeted outreach in areas of RCT with little advice presence. During the last year, over 80% of clients presenting to Citizen’s Advice RCT lacked sufficient funds to cover the cost of essentials and therefore fell into negative budgets, with this a particular problem for single parents. Moreover, there have been sharp rises in the need for energy and food bank vouchers over the last year. Citizen’s Advice is also commissioned by the Council to provide two referral-only services, for those referred by the Housing Solutions Team at risk of homelessness, and a financial appraisal for those referred by the Resilient Families Service.
The council no longer has a dedicated team to support financial wellbeing, meaning that the voluntary sector is the primary provider of this support for the general population. Other local authorities in Wales have formed collaborations with the voluntary sector to promote benefits maximisation and financial wellbeing (Pembrokeshire County Council., 2024); while the project has not been formally evaluated, it provides an example of how closer collaboration can help provide practical and financial support to families experiencing poverty.
Trussell operates 21 foodbanks across RCT to provide emergency food support, which usually require a referral in the form of an e-voucher, as discussed below (Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council, n.d.). Typical support contains around three days of non-perishable, tinned and dried foods donated by the local community, though some may also provide fresh food. Between April 2024 and March 2025, 16,634 emergency food parcels were handed out across RCT by Trussell-operated foodbanks, with 35% of those for children (Taff-Ely Foodbank, 2025). This represents a decrease of around 1,400 parcels compared to last year, but foodbank usage in RCT has risen by around 30% compared with 2019-2020 (Taff-Ely Foodbank, 2025). As well as emergency food parcels, Trussell-operated Taff Ely Foodbank has launched a baby bank accessible through midwifery and health visitors; it also offers additional support in cooking and nutrition, school holiday meals, debt and money advice, and a fuel bank. As well as those operated by Trussell, there are also a range of other community pantries and cafes which provide more universal support, offering free or subsidised food, and often other items such as school uniforms.
To access Trussell-operated foodbanks, residents usually require a voucher gained from a referral by a local organisation, including from the Council’s work and skills team, some GP surgeries and schools, and Citizens Advice (Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council, n.d.). This voucher system intends to ensure that the limited resources can be directed at those who are most in need, and to help provide other wraparound support (Birmingham City Council, 2023). However, as mentioned above, there are other community organisations providing food support which operate on a more universal model.
Key Points
- A wide range of practical and financial support services are delivered in RCT. There are a variety of organisations responsible for administering and delivering these, including the UK Government, Welsh Government, RCT Council, and local voluntary sector organisations.
- Many of the services delivered by the public sector require separate applications, even where there are overlapping eligibility criteria, leading to duplication and additional effort for those in need of support.
- The voluntary sector plays a significant role in providing welfare and debt advice, emergency food, and support with wider wellbeing.
- Uptake varies across different services:
- Around 22% of households in RCT receive Council Tax Reduction. Of these, 85% receive a full reductions
- Uptake of free school meals in 2021-22 was approximately 77%, although this is before the introduction of universal free school meals in primary schools
- In 2024-25, 16,634 emergency food parcels were handed out across RCT by Trussell-operated foodbanks, with 35% of those for children
There are ongoing efforts at both a Welsh Government and local government level to streamline application processes and link data between organisations, but further work is required to realise the potential benefits and implement this in practice.
Read the next section: Review questions 6 and 7: What are the barriers to accessing services for poverty alleviation in RCT and what would work to make these services more welcoming and empowering?
Cliciwch yma am y Gymraeg
After examining national and international evidence on the important services to alleviate poverty, the barriers in accessing them and how to address them, the Working Group Members chose to focus on practical and financial support. This research question focuses on more localised evidence to understand what practical and financial support services are currently available for families living in RCT.
As the Working Group members chose to focus on practical and financial support services, we drew on organisational data, population data and professional knowledge to answer this question. We collected evidence on the services delivered by public and voluntary sector organisations in RCT, how they are accessed, and uptake data, where available.
Public sector support
The local authority delivers a variety of services relating to its core areas of responsibility, including council tax, education and housing. Annex 2 outlines available data on the services for each of these areas, including eligibility, access, support provided and uptake in RCT.
Individual online application forms are required to access most services described below, although the application for Council Tax Reduction and Housing Benefit has been streamlined into a single process. While there are online options available, Officers told us that the majority of contact made to the council in relation to practical and financial support services is by phone. Extra help in accessing services and completing application forms is provided at One4All centres, located at five locations in RCT (by appointment).
Many benefits administered by the council also share similar eligibility criteria, meaning that many of those eligible for Housing Benefit or Council Tax Reduction, for example, would also be eligible for Free School Meals, and consequently the School Essentials Grant. However, details do not transfer across application forms, meaning that families must prove they are eligible by submitting evidence on multiple occasions. Officers informed us that one reason why this may happen is that applications for these initiatives are processed by different teams within the council, limiting the data sharing that can occur. Some legislative barriers remain in terms of how some benefits can be claimed (primarily in relation to free school meals), though efforts are underway at a Welsh Government level to streamline this process as far as possible, and many local authorities are making progress despite these constraints (Welsh Government, 2021).
Council Tax
The Council Tax Reduction Scheme can help those on low incomes to pay for all or part of their council tax, depending on circumstance. Support is available to those both unemployed and working. If a household receives certain benefits, they are entitled to 100% support when assessed and are known as ‘passported’ (Welsh Government, 2024c). However, this does not include those on Universal Credit. Those with capital greater than £16,000 may also not be eligible for any reduction. Around 22% of households in RCT receive some form of reduction, which is the fourth highest rate of any local authority in Wales (Welsh Government, 2024c). This consists of 23,398 households, of which over 85% receive a full reduction, although only 43.5% of all cases receive a passported benefit.
Education
All primary school-aged children are eligible for Universal Free School Meals. However, those who register for eligibility-based free school meals are also eligible to receive a School Essentials Grant of £125 (or £200 in Year 7), to help fund uniform, equipment and activities (Welsh Government 2025a). In order to be eligible, families must receive one of a list of benefits, including Universal Credit (though if working, earnings must be less than £7,400). Although there are quality issues with the data, the 2021/22 school census indicated an indicative uptake rate of 77% for eligibility-based free school meals; this was also taken before the implementation of Universal Free School Meals.
All 92 primary schools and three special schools in RCT provide a free breakfast club for children before the start of the school day. This is a universally provided service for nursery and primary school aged children, providing they have a successful application, due to the number of adults available to supervise. Around 5,000 breakfasts were served weekly in September 2023 in RCT.
Those aged between 16 and 18 years old at the start of the school year and studying a course up to Level 3 at a school or college may also be eligible for Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA). This is administered by Student Finance Wales and is income-based: with household income of £23,400 or less if they are the only young person in the household, or £25,974 if there is more than one. This entitles them to a £40 per week payment for remaining in education, with 1,370 approved applications in RCT for the 2023/24 academic year. Given the income-based criteria, the vast majority of those previously eligible for eligibility-based free school meals, and the School Essentials Grant could claim EMA, but have to apply individually.
Housing
Housing Benefit can provide support up to the full value of rent to those on a low income, though there are multiple eligibility criteria. Data on the breakdown of claimants in RCT highlights that while there are 7,253 claimants of Housing Benefit in RCT, only a very small proportion (119 claimants; 1.6%) have dependent children (Department for Work and Pensions, 2025b). However, Housing Benefit has now been absorbed into the housing-costs related element of Universal Credit, which is administered by the Department for Work and Pensions, rather than by local authorities (Wilson and Hobson, 2021). A far greater proportion of those claiming housing-related costs through Universal Credit in RCT have children: of the 13,752 claimants, 61% have at least one child (Department for Work and Pensions, 2025b). It should however be noted that the amount received varies across RCT, as the payment is made based on a Broad Rental Market Area, meaning those living in the Cynon Merthyr area receive more than those living in the Taff Rhondda area.
For those requiring short-term support with housing costs, Discretionary Housing Payments can help to cover shortfalls in rent, or costs in moving home such as deposits or advance payments. It is unclear how many families were awarded this support, but around £470,000 was paid across RCT in financial year 2022-23 (Department for Work and Pensions, 2025c).
Energy efficiency grants are also available, with the Heat and Save Grant for owner-occupiers offering up to £5,000 in renovation costs, and the ECO 4 Flex Scheme offering grants through registered installers until March 2026. For those on certain benefits, the Warm Homes Discount Scheme also provides an automatic £150 saving on energy costs.
Other public sector support
The Healthy Start scheme offers pregnant mothers and those with young children receiving certain benefits support to purchase milk and healthy food, including fruit and vegetables and pulses, as well as free vitamins. 71% of eligible families in RCT have claimed this benefit, which involves money being added to a prepaid card every four weeks.
For those facing extreme financial hardship, the Welsh Government also offers two hardship grants, which do not need to be paid back. The Emergency Assistance Payment (EAP) can help pay for essential costs including food, fuel and emergency travel, while the Individual Assistance Payment (IAP) can help supply white goods and furniture for those moving home. In 2024, 20,652 EAP grants were made, along with 625 IAP grants (Welsh Government, 2025b).
Current efforts to improve access
There are current and ongoing efforts to improve how families access practical and financial support services in RCT. This is occurring through the Welsh Government’s Streamlining Welsh Benefits project, as well as through the Low-Income Family Tracker (LIFT).
There is a shared commitment between local authorities in Wales and the Welsh Government to encourage residents to maximise their income and claim all the support to which they are entitled. However, it is currently often complicated to both understand what is available, and to apply (Welsh Government, 2024b). The Streamlining Welsh Benefits project will first focus on three benefits: the Council Tax Reduction Scheme (CTRS), Free School Meals, and School Essentials Grant, aiming to build on existing good practice within local authorities and ensuring that people across Wales only need to provide information and supporting evidence once (Welsh Government, 2024b). This involves identifying duplication and clarifying how data can be shared within local authorities and with agencies such as His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs and the Department for Work and Pensions, which remain under the control of the UK Government. While this work is ongoing, with the first phase expected to finish in April 2026, there may still be work that can be done within RCT to maximise the connectedness between Council-administered services, thereby improving uptake.
One way in which RCT council are currently aiming to improve uptake locally is using the Low-Income Family Tracker (LIFT). RCT is one of fourteen local authorities in Wales piloting the use of LIFT, in partnership with Policy in Practice (Welsh Government 2025c). LIFT is a software tool that has already been used by some local authorities in England and aims to compile data from multiple sources to create a picture of households in a local area and what they might be entitled to (Local Government Association, 2024b). For example, LIFT reports can highlight the number of households who may be suitable targets for discretionary housing payments, eligible for Healthy Start vouchers, or in council tax arrears with a cash shortfall (Policy in Practice, 2025). Further understanding how the tool is currently being used in RCT and its other potential applications could help tailor support to families and focus communications on those most likely to be eligible and in need of support.
Voluntary sector support
Voluntary sector organisations play a key role in supporting communities in Rhondda Cynon Taf, extending statutory service provision. The Council’s RCT Together team leads on partnership working with community groups, voluntary organisations and the wider voluntary sector to build more resilient communities.
Citizen’s Advice RCT offers a range of advice services on a range of issues, including welfare queries and specialist debt advice. They also provide targeted outreach in areas of RCT with little advice presence. During the last year, over 80% of clients presenting to Citizen’s Advice RCT lacked sufficient funds to cover the cost of essentials and therefore fell into negative budgets, with this a particular problem for single parents. Moreover, there have been sharp rises in the need for energy and food bank vouchers over the last year. Citizen’s Advice is also commissioned by the Council to provide two referral-only services, for those referred by the Housing Solutions Team at risk of homelessness, and a financial appraisal for those referred by the Resilient Families Service.
The council no longer has a dedicated team to support financial wellbeing, meaning that the voluntary sector is the primary provider of this support for the general population. Other local authorities in Wales have formed collaborations with the voluntary sector to promote benefits maximisation and financial wellbeing (Pembrokeshire County Council., 2024); while the project has not been formally evaluated, it provides an example of how closer collaboration can help provide practical and financial support to families experiencing poverty.
Trussell operates 21 foodbanks across RCT to provide emergency food support, which usually require a referral in the form of an e-voucher, as discussed below (Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council, n.d.). Typical support contains around three days of non-perishable, tinned and dried foods donated by the local community, though some may also provide fresh food. Between April 2024 and March 2025, 16,634 emergency food parcels were handed out across RCT by Trussell-operated foodbanks, with 35% of those for children (Taff-Ely Foodbank, 2025). This represents a decrease of around 1,400 parcels compared to last year, but foodbank usage in RCT has risen by around 30% compared with 2019-2020 (Taff-Ely Foodbank, 2025). As well as emergency food parcels, Trussell-operated Taff Ely Foodbank has launched a baby bank accessible through midwifery and health visitors; it also offers additional support in cooking and nutrition, school holiday meals, debt and money advice, and a fuel bank. As well as those operated by Trussell, there are also a range of other community pantries and cafes which provide more universal support, offering free or subsidised food, and often other items such as school uniforms.
To access Trussell-operated foodbanks, residents usually require a voucher gained from a referral by a local organisation, including from the Council’s work and skills team, some GP surgeries and schools, and Citizens Advice (Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council, n.d.). This voucher system intends to ensure that the limited resources can be directed at those who are most in need, and to help provide other wraparound support (Birmingham City Council, 2023). However, as mentioned above, there are other community organisations providing food support which operate on a more universal model.
Key Points
- A wide range of practical and financial support services are delivered in RCT. There are a variety of organisations responsible for administering and delivering these, including the UK Government, Welsh Government, RCT Council, and local voluntary sector organisations.
- Many of the services delivered by the public sector require separate applications, even where there are overlapping eligibility criteria, leading to duplication and additional effort for those in need of support.
- The voluntary sector plays a significant role in providing welfare and debt advice, emergency food, and support with wider wellbeing.
- Uptake varies across different services:
- Around 22% of households in RCT receive Council Tax Reduction. Of these, 85% receive a full reductions
- Uptake of free school meals in 2021-22 was approximately 77%, although this is before the introduction of universal free school meals in primary schools
- In 2024-25, 16,634 emergency food parcels were handed out across RCT by Trussell-operated foodbanks, with 35% of those for children
There are ongoing efforts at both a Welsh Government and local government level to streamline application processes and link data between organisations, but further work is required to realise the potential benefits and implement this in practice.
Read the next section: Review questions 6 and 7: What are the barriers to accessing services for poverty alleviation in RCT and what would work to make these services more welcoming and empowering?
