Welsh Budget fall-out and delay to EVEL plans

Wales Office Minister Alun Cairns - could he live on the "national living wage"?

It was a straightforward question: could you live on £7.20 an hour?

Wales Office Minister Alun Cairns didn't answer it. So I asked the question again. He didn't answer directly but said for someone on the minimum wage now (£6.50) to get a pay rise to £9 an hour by 2020 would be "fantastic news" with a more positive impact on Wales because of relatively low pay there.

"This Budget," he said, "is about making work pay. So many people have been trapped on benefits, it hasn't been in their interests for many people, for many individuals and families to go out to work."

You could argue it's an unfair question. Mr Cairns is paid almost £90,000 a year and as a family man would struggle (as I would) on the new national living wage" of £7.20 an hour.

But that was the point of the question. If you can't live on it, it's questionable to describe it as a living wage. It looks more like a rebranded higher national minimum wage for the over-25s.

Working age benefits will be frozen for four years. Public sector pay rises will be capped at one per cent over the same period. Except for politicians, who can expect substantial one-off hikes this year for MPs and next year for AMs.

In other news, the UK government has blinked first in the row over plans to restrict the role of Welsh and Scottish MPs on English issues at Westminster.

'Welsh Grand'

Leader of the Commons, Chris Grayling, told MPs the government is re-writing its plans for English votes for English laws. MPs will now get two days next week (rather longer than originally planned) to debate the proposals.

He will then "publish and table a final set of standing orders" which will be debated and voted on after the summer recess.

For Labour, the Shadow Leader of the Commons, Angela Eagle, said the "reckless and shoddy plans" had descended into "chaos".

The retreat will not have surprised anyone who watched last Tuesday's emergency debate on the issue.

There is though one casualty of the changed parliamentary timetable, which will also include a vote on fox-hunting.

Wednesday's scheduled meetings of the Welsh Grand Committee ( to discuss the Queen's Speech and the Budget) will be postponed until September. Don't let the delay ruin your summer.

In the meantime, here's my colleague Sarah Dickins's take on what the Budget means for Wales - check out the rather snazzy info graphic.