Jane Hutt: Thank you very much, Alun Davies, for feeding back from that meeting with the police federation, who I meet regularly, and recently met with the First Minister. The police federation arranged for us to meet many of those fantastic police officers who have shown great bravery and courage across our nation. Just to, again, ensure people, colleagues, are aware of this, the police covenant is a...
Jane Hutt: Thank you, Sarah Murphy. We are committed to ensuring that public authorities use data transparently, safely and ethically for the benefit of all citizens in Wales, as set out in mission 6 of the 'Digital strategy for Wales'.
Jane Hutt: Diolch yn fawr, Sarah Murphy. I do want to acknowledge and recognise the ways in which Sarah Murphy, particularly, is taking up this issue—and I think it benefits all of us—and chairing the cross-party group, because we are all learning about this, but we have responsibilities and we have powers. All in authority have powers, and we must recognise the link between data justice and social...
Jane Hutt: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Can I start by thanking Jack Sargeant for bringing this debate today? It does provide me with an opportunity, once again, to reassure people across Wales that supporting them through this cost-of-living crisis remains our priority. I've talked at length in recent months about the impact of spiralling energy prices, the effect of inflation, particularly food inflation,...
Jane Hutt: However, there's now evidence that suppliers aren't following the basic rules to protect people in vulnerable circumstances. Again, Jack, you referred to the Citizen's Advice evidence. From September to December last year, more than three times the number of people were moved onto a prepayment meter for debt compared to the same period in 2019. Front-line advisers consistently see evidence of...
Jane Hutt: The Minister for Finance and Local Government and I met during the draft budget planning process to discuss ways of addressing the cost-of-living crisis and other inequalities through the draft budget. This included meetings as part of the Cabinet sub-committee on the cost of living.
Jane Hutt: This year, the Welsh Government has provided support worth £1.6 billion, through programmes that protect disadvantaged households and families experiencing hardship. This includes funding for the provision of free school meals, the school essentials grant, our fuel support scheme and our childcare offer.
Jane Hutt: When bailiffs collect debts, the amount owing increases and families face more stress. This is why early intervention from single advice fund services is important. During April to September 2022, SAF services helped people in mid and west Wales to write off debts totalling £697,000 and claim £3,463,636 additional income.
Jane Hutt: I've written twice in the last two weeks, urging UK Government to end the abhorrent practice of forced installation of prepayment meters. I call on them and energy suppliers to remove any meters installed by force this winter, and I'm urgently seeking a meeting with the Secretary of State.
Jane Hutt: Well, I'd like to thank Jack Sargeant for his relentless and effective campaign on what are the prepayment meter scandals that have emerged over recent weeks. You have raised this consistently over the past year and helped to expose it, for us and for the Welsh Government to respond, and indeed the whole Senedd and our fuel poverty cross-party group, which Mark Isherwood chairs, and I assure...
Jane Hutt: Thank you, Mark Isherwood, for your questions, and I hope you will back my call for a meeting with the Secretary of State. Of course, I have written to the Secretary of State and I have had a response from the energy Minister. I think what is very clear is that we've got to recognise the scale of this: 200,000 households in Wales use prepayment meters for their mains gas and electricity; 15...
Jane Hutt: Thank you very much, Sioned Williams, for reporting on that CPG on consumer rights. I'm shortly meeting with National Energy Action and Citizens Advice, who are key to inform us, and inform us regularly, of the evidence and also of the policy moves that we need to take. I think this is time when we do look to what powers we've got, the ways in which we can intervene when so much is reserved,...
Jane Hutt: Certainly I will follow up all of those points, Jenny Rathbone, Chair of the Equality and Social Justice Committee, with the UK Government and, indeed, with Ofgem. I said, 'You need a complete overhaul of regulations' to Ofgem, and we'll see what impact their enforcement powers have in terms of their investigations in terms of British Gas. Yes, it did take Lord Justice Edis, as Mark Isherwood...
Jane Hutt: Can I thank the Llywydd for enabling more Members to make the points and ask the questions today to this topical question? Yes, the standing charges are an outrage in terms of the impact they have on people's lives. Can I just go back to the point that was raised by Jack Sargeant in his supplementary question? We need the sort of legislation we've got in the water industry to prevent...
Jane Hutt: Thank you very much, Andrew R.T. Davies. I was standing in for the First Minister today at the Ofgem board. They were meeting in the UK Government offices in Central Square, where they actually have an Ofgem office, which actually, they told me, is being expanded in terms of their presence here in Wales. The chair of the Ofgem board is actually representing Welsh interests. They’ve been...
Jane Hutt: Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. I'm pleased to provide an update to Members about our ongoing work to support people from Ukraine seeking sanctuary in Wales. Wales has now welcomed just over 6,400 Ukrainians under Homes for Ukraine. Almost 3,400 have been sponsored by Welsh households, with just over 3,000 sponsored by the Welsh Government by 7 February. Over 1,300 of those Welsh Government has...
Jane Hutt: On 31 January, my Scottish counterpart and I met with UK Minister Felicity Buchan to talk about issues affecting our Ukraine response. During my last statement, I outlined the financial issues that I would be raising, and these were discussed with Minister Buchan. Unfortunately, our requests for changes that we believe would support public services and services for vulnerable new arrivals...
Jane Hutt: Thank you very much, Mark Isherwood, and can I say I absolutely agree with your opening comments about the barbaric, as you say, invasion? And we are, of course, now, facing a year where we all stood together in this Chamber to acknowledge this and to pledge ourselves to respond in the humanitarian way that we do believe is right and just as a nation of sanctuary. We have worked very closely,...
Jane Hutt: I think it is important to say that we have been working very hard with our local authorities, not only to support people in initial accommodation, but then, all importantly, to help them to move on. But just to recognise that we have been providing comprehensive support for particularly the first few weeks of Ukrainians arriving in Wales. We call this the welcome phase. It does obviously...
Jane Hutt: Diolch, Sioned Williams, and thank you very much for, again, expressing the importance of our welcome, that refugees are welcomed to Wales. As you say, it's a grim milestone that we’ve reached, but we will also be measured about that welcome and the strength and the depth of that welcome. We can see it’s so strong in terms of the way people across Wales, in all communities, have...
