Jane Dodds has asked the Welsh Government what it is doing to help keep people warm this winter.
The Mid and West Wales MS said at the Senedd that changes to winter fuel payments introduced by the UK Government have significantly increased hardship for thousands of pensioners this winter.
Video from Senedd.tv
The Mid and West Wales MS said at the Senedd that changes to winter fuel payments introduced by the UK Government have significantly increased hardship for thousands of pensioners this winter.
Video from Senedd.tv
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NewsTranscript
00:00I'd like to ask yourself, please, for an urgent statement on the issue of fuel poverty.
00:06We've seen the changes to winter fuel payments introduced by the UK Labour government significantly
00:11increase hardship for thousands of pensioners this winter, and in my home county of Powys,
00:1790% of pensioners will lose out on this vital support.
00:21The Welsh Government's warm homes programme, whilst well-intentioned, is progressing far
00:27too slowly.
00:28At the current pace, the Bevan Foundation reports it will take 136 years to address
00:36all fuel-poor households, which is an unacceptable generational failure.
00:43It's further exacerbated by outdated data on fuel poverty here in Wales, relying on
00:50housing stock surveys decades old, hampering our ability to be effective.
00:57We are, once again, halfway through this winter, and this issue has been raised time and time
01:04again.
01:05So, what will you do on behalf of the Government here in Wales to ensure that our homes are
01:11warm and that this programme can continue at pace and at scale?
01:18Diolch yn fawr, Jane Dodds.
01:21I would like to make a statement.
01:25I will seek the business time, or, indeed, to start with a written statement.
01:31I do want to respond to the all-important question into these winter months on how we,
01:39as a Government, are tackling fuel poverty and investing in warm homes, because it is
01:45a joint responsibility of myself and Jane Bryant, just in terms of the warm homes NEST
01:49scheme.
01:50It's £30 million to reduce the number of low-income households living in cold, damp
01:55homes, and that's our primary mechanism to tackle fuel poverty.
02:00But, of course, what's important for those households who do benefit from the warm homes
02:07NEST scheme is not only packages to insulate and decarbonise their home, but also advice
02:14and guidance to all of those households.
02:18In fact, the Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government, I know, has answered
02:22questions on this point.
02:25We have to maximise income, build financial resilience, put money back into people's pockets,
02:32and I think just the discretionary assistance fund, the crisis fund for peopleóit provides
02:37support for fuel and energy costs in crisis situations.
02:41We're supporting the UK Government's campaign to get eligible pensions signed up for pension
02:46credits so that they can access the winter fuel support scheme, but also we are investing
02:53in the Fuel Bank Foundation, as you know, with £700,000 more funds to enable people
03:02on prepayment meters and off-grid to access that funding.
03:06But I will doóto bring it all together, I will do a statement, find time to do a statement
03:11on tackling fuel poverty in Wales.