Funding for social care

Cardiff University has marked the launch of a new tax research group, in front of an audience of academics, practitioners, policymakers and other partners, at a funding for social care event in Cardiff Business School.

The Centre for Interdisciplinary Tax Research Group (CITRG) aims to provide a platform for researchers, practitioners and policymakers working inside and outside of the tax field to discuss policy-relevant questions which have an important tax dimension.

Operating within the academic and policymaking contexts, the group’s members are well placed to learn from tax administration trends from across the globe and also to convey the Welsh experience to other jurisdictions.

Jointly co-ordinated by Carla Edgley and Dr Dennis De Widt, from the Accounting and Finance section at Cardiff Business School, the formation of the CITRG is timely given Wales’ newly acquired tax powers and current discussions on the introduction of new taxes.

Dr Dennis De Widt said: “The Funding for Social Care event reflects the approach that we intend to undertake with our new research group. We really want to link taxation and tax administration questions to broad societal and policy issues...”

Context, solutions, legislation

The event’s first session focused on the current funding situation for social care in Wales.

Perspectives were shared by Nesta Lloyd-Jones from the Welsh NHS Confederation, Valerie Billingham from Age Cymru and Jonathan Price, Chief Economist in Welsh Government.

Simon Bottery, Senior Fellow at The King’s Fund, brought the opening session to a close by providing a comparative view and outlining the social care funding context in England.

The presentations resumed, following a refreshment break, focussing on potential funding solutions for the challenges faced in social care and the tax and legislative implications for the solutions being considered.

The audience enjoyed presentations from Gerald Holtham visiting Professor at Cardiff Metropolitan University and author of the independent report Paying for Social Care, and John Cullinane, Tax Policy Director at the Chartered Institute of Taxation.

The event concluded with a panel discussion where the event’s speakers were joined by Andy Fraser, Head of Tax Strategy at Welsh Government, and Michael Trickey, Honorary Senior Research Fellow at Cardiff University.

Professor Rachel Ashworth, Dean of Cardiff Business School, who opened the event, said: “While we’re grouped into disciplinary sections at Cardiff Business School, we’re always working across the University and, indeed the School, to pool our ideas and our perspectives...”

“I’d like to congratulate Carla and Dennis for their work in bringing the group to fruition and look forward to seeing it grow to include partners and practitioners from across the region and beyond.”

Catch up on all the presentations from the Funding for Social Care event.

Find out more about the Centre for Interdisciplinary Tax Research Group.