6. Will the Minister provide an update on preparations for the new Welsh Government fuel poverty strategy? OAQ54829

Thank you. I expect the new plan for tackling fuel poverty will be published for consultation in February 2020. Our proposals are being informed by the landscape review, published by the Wales Audit Office on 3 October, as well as engagement with key stakeholders, including the round-table I hosted in June.

Thank you, Minister, for that answer. Obviously, there's a myriad of things that you can look at when looking at fuel poverty, and I appreciate that many of the levers are not devolved. I recently met with Smart Energy, which told me all about the work that it is doing to encourage the take-up of smart meters. Forty per cent of households in the Cynon Valley have already switched to smart meters, I was pleased to find out, and that's well above average, which is good for consumers but also positive for the environment. What reflections do you have, Minister, on the role of smart meters in tackling fuel poverty? And how could encouraging people to switch be built into future Welsh Government initiatives?

Thank you. Certainly those figures in the Cynon Valley are very welcome. I think that the national average is about 28 per cent. So, you can see that you are well above the average in the Cynon Valley, so that's very good. Smart metering can make a valuable contribution to our efforts to reduce energy waste. It helps bill payers save money. It can help reduce the energy needed to maintain a safe and comfortable home, and obviously reduce the cost if you can find a better deal through switching, because I know that some people are reluctant to switch or don't know how to switch. So, I think that the advice that's given alongside the installation of the smart meter is very helpful.

It also makes the management of supply and demand of energy easier and more cost effective. I'm hoping to meet with the company that—. Obviously, this is a UK Government initiative, smart meters, and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy have appointed a company—data commissions company, I think it is called. So, I'm hoping to meet them in January to discuss what more we can do, because I'm very keen for Welsh Government to support the UK Government in relation to this. 

Minister, I note that the Scottish Government has changed the definition of fuel poverty, and this following a legal challenge, so that it's now defined as a household where residents are on low incomes and they need to spend a high proportion of that income on fuel. The current definition is households that spend 10 per cent of their income on fuel, and that could capture a very wealthy couple who decide to live in a historic building and spend 10 per cent as a life choice on heating it, and that's not really what we want to capture. We need better data so that we are really getting to those who need the most assistance.

I wasn't aware that Scotland were doing that, but I'll certainly be keen to look at that. And, again, as part of the new strategy, and, obviously, the consultation, I'm sure that will be something that will come up. As you say, that's the thing with targets; you sometimes get perverse outcomes. Clearly, I hadn't thought about that, but, yes, that would be completely not what we would be hoping to improve.