7. How is the Welsh Government is tackling poverty in Mid and West Wales? OQ57238

Thank you very much. The region will benefit from the household support package worth £51 million that was announced last week. Last financial year, in Mid and West Wales, the single advice fund supported over 8,000 people to claim £6.4 million of extra welfare benefit income. This financial year, the region received £237,742 to tackle food poverty.

Thank you very much for that detailed response. As you know, one in three children in Wales lives in poverty, and rural poverty is particularly pertinent to the region I represent and often goes under the radar: fuel poverty; areas with low salaries and low gross value added in comparison to the Welsh average; and a paucity of crucial services. As you know, living costs are expected to increase by some 5 per cent by next spring, and we regret the fact that the Tories in Westminster have refused to change their mind on the removal of that additional £20 on universal credit.

I was very pleased to hear of the commitment that you've set out, particularly the £51 million to help families facing crisis. The Bevan Foundation, interestingly, noted recently that 10 per cent of households in Wales were behind in terms of paying their bills, and StepChange has said that 21 per cent of the population of Wales is facing financial difficulties. So, can you tell me, Minister, from the point of view of those particular details, how you intend to respond to the challenge of poverty in terms of energy bills particularly? Thank you.

Thank you very much for your question.

This is also, as you say, the shocking result of the £20 cut to universal credit, the end of furlough, rising prices, food, fuel, and, indeed, the Minister for Climate Change and I met with the National Energy Agency this morning, where we were discussing these issues. I met with the End Child Poverty Network Cymru on Monday morning. They welcomed the fact that we have used that funding. We have allocated £51 million for a household living fund, and I do take the opportunity to really promote—and I hope you will promote—the £38 million to support households with a winter fuel support scheme. It will be eligible households, and we think there'll be over 300,000 who will be eligible for this and will be able to access this funding, if we have good take-up, and we hope you will all help with that. It's a one-off £100 cash payment from their local authority, to be used towards paying winter fuel bills.

But, you know, we got £25 million out of that £500 million so-called household support fund. It was derisory and no way is it making up the money lost by 270,000 families in Wales, including in your constituency. So, we will do what we can in terms of supporting people in Wales with the cost-of-living crisis for families, and also not just the £100 payment from the winter support, fuel support, but also extra funding for community food organisations, credit unions and also other projects across the Welsh Government to make sure that we can do what we can to give support during these difficult winter months coming ahead.