It’s a self-evident truth that increased seasonal demand puts further strain on an already overstretched service, resulting in lengthy waits for patients. As the British Medical Association Cymru warned last October, the frail elderly and a rise in respiratory conditions lead to more and different admissions in winter. GPs report difficulties in arranging for patients to be assessed or admitted all year round. Such patients can end up being directed to the emergency departments where they join others waiting for a hospital bed to become available. Age Cymru’s public policy statement on fuel poverty last September said that fuel poverty is a significant problem for many older people in Wales—the group most likely to suffer from this—and is a significant cause of excess winter deaths. Ninety per cent of 16,000 excess winter deaths in Wales over the past decade involved people aged over 65, with the highest rate amongst those over 85, who constituted nearly 50 per cent of the total.

In 2012, almost 30 per cent of Welsh households were estimated to be in fuel poverty, spending 10 per cent or more of household income on fuel to maintain heat adequate enough to safeguard comfort and health. Increased household incomes and decreased fuel prices saw this fall to 23 per cent in 2016, but that still represents 291,000 households and 43,000 in severe fuel poverty. Welsh Government targets to eradicate fuel poverty amongst all vulnerable households by 2010 and social housing by 2012 were missed. There is no realistic prospect of achieving the 2018 target of eradicating fuel poverty in Wales, and, as Age Cymru state, many of the mechanisms and measures contained within the 2010 fuel poverty strategy are out of date, or no longer applicable. I think the time is right for the Welsh Government to refresh its fuel poverty strategy, with a clear programme and timescales, credible evidence base, and new fuel poverty targets, rooted in delivery rather than being a hostage to energy price movements.

As Fuel Poverty Coalition Cymru states, the Welsh Government must save lives by implementing the NICE guidelines on tackling excess winter deaths. And although fuel poverty is first and foremost a social justice issue, this First Minister has again given responsibility for reducing it to the Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs. It is therefore essential that the Welsh Government works with Fuel Poverty Coalition members to instead place fuel poverty at the heart of action to tackle poverty, with strong emphasis on all sectors taking responsibility together. We must put early intervention and prevention into practice, giving real meaning to person-centred and citizen-directed approaches.

Local affordable warmth schemes, spearheaded by the Flintshire affordable warmth partnership, should be expanded, working with local authorities, third sector organisations, and existing public and private sector energy efficiency schemes, to address specific fuel poverty and health issues prevalent in Wales. Independent advice services for people in fuel poverty must be supported, rescuing those in immediate crisis whose needs are not met by current provision. Energy Best Deal sessions, funded by energy suppliers, Ofgem, and Citizens Advice, must be embraced, as must energy company contributions, such as the charitable British Gas Energy Trust, offering advice and support for people struggling with energy bills, and Npower’s Health Through Warmth scheme, helping vulnerable people with cold-related illnesses to fund and install heating and insulation in their homes.

In March I’ll be sponsoring an event in the Senedd, promoting the continuation of National Energy Action Cymru’s Calor-sponsored rural Welsh energy advisorship programme, to assist fuel-poor households in off-grid rural communities across Wales. A written answer I received from the First Minister yesterday stated the Welsh Government’s key programme for tackling fuel poverty comprises its Warm Homes programme, including the Nest scheme. However, Fuel Poverty Coalition Cymru is concerned that the proposed new Welsh Government eligibility criteria will deny help for many households currently eligible, preventing interventions that save public money.

We must embrace co-productive preventative services, designed to operate throughout the year, to reduce winter pressures and enable health professionals to concentrate on meeting clinical needs, such as the British Red Cross support service, planned for Glan Clwyd Hospital, Bodelwyddan—their community navigates this pilot at Clarence House surgery in Rhyl and their welfare centre in Wrexham. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Bevan Foundation told the last Assembly that fuel poverty should be central to the Welsh Government’s tackling poverty action plan. We therefore need a revised fuel poverty strategy now.