South Wales East MS Natasha Asghar has raised concerns over fuel poverty during a Senedd plenary last week (November 17).

She said: “As we approach winter, the subject of fuel poverty is on our minds and on the minds of many of my constituents in south-east Wales. The equality and social justice committee recently called on the Welsh government to publish revised plans to tackle fuel poverty to ensure that they are indeed in place by April 2022. What discussions have you had with the minister for social justice about revising your plan on fuel poverty and to publicise the schemes that are already in place to assist those vulnerable people with their fuel bills in this upcoming winter?”

Minister for finance and local government Rebecca Evans MS told the Senedd that the price of energy is of serious concern over the course of the coming winter, which is why the Welsh government introduced a £51 million scheme to create a household support fund, and part of that will be £38 million invested in our winter fuel support scheme.

She explained: “What that means in practice is that eligible households who are on low incomes will be able to claim a £100 cash payment to provide support towards their winter energy bills.”

The Welsh government expects to reach around 350,000 households with the payment, to help with the increased costs over the winter.