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00:43It's further exacerbated by outdated data on fuel poverty here in Wales, relying on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.
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