I'd like to focus my contribution to this debate on two essential things that we all need in order to be able to live: food and water—not luxuries, not nice-to-haves, but essentials. Mark Isherwood mentioned in terms of helping people into work, but the reality is that, here in Wales today, people who are working cannot afford these essentials.

During the Plaid Cymru debate on 8 December on food poverty, many of us shared horrifying statistics from our constituencies and regions in terms of foodbank usage and why it is not acceptable that food insecurity and hunger are a day-to-day reality for so many people that we represent. Unfortunately, rather than improving, the situation continues to worsen, hence why I'm supporting today's motion so that an emergency cost-of-living action plan is developed and implemented as soon as possible.

According to the United Nations, average food prices increased about 28 per cent in 2021 to a 10-year high. This has been partly caused by rising energy prices that have affected the cost of certain fertilisers, and increasing transport costs, which have both had a negative impact on food supply chains. More than half of households in Wales have faced increased food costs and, as we've heard, six in 10 have seen the cost of their utilities increase, such as their water and energy bills. 

Last year, nearly 10 per cent of households in Wales were already experiencing low food security, and a fifth of people in Wales were worried about running out of food before they could afford to buy more. This figure was even higher for families with children. A third of people earning less than the living wage were having to skip meals, as Delyth Jewell illustrated, and nearly 60 per cent of people living in households with the lowest income in Wales reported changing their eating habits for financial reasons. As energy prices are expected to further increase, we're likely to see greater increases in food prices, as well as people having to choose between basic necessities, such as heating, food and hygiene products, including menstrual products—again, not luxuries. These are things that we are fortunate enough to be able to take for granted, though this may not have been the case for some of us in the past.

Not only are people in Wales living in food poverty, struggling with buying food and facing greater financial pressures to support a balanced diet, but water poverty is becoming an increasing issue in Wales, with water bills being a significant contributor to people in problem debt. After council tax arrears, water bill arrears were the second most common kind of debt that clients who approached StepChange were struggling with. It is estimated that 175,000 households in Wales live in water poverty, but only 35 per cent of those households receive the help they need under current arrangements. Research from the Consumer Council for Water has shown that households in Wales are living in water poverty, with households having to cut back on other essentials in order to pay their water bill. And support for water poverty is patchy, with households facing financial difficulties receiving significantly different levels of support or no help at all. Providing greater assistance for food and water costs within an action plan would help those in Wales who face financial pressures from other areas, such as rising energy costs and stagnating wages.

On Monday, as I'm sure many of you have seen, Oxfam released a press release detailing that the world's 10 richest men more than doubled their fortunes from £700 billion to £1.5 trillion during the first two years of the pandemic. At the same time, 99 per cent of humanity have seen their incomes fall and over 160 million more people across the world have been forced into poverty. This should anger us all and concern each of us and spur us into action, as it is not acceptable that this is the reality for people living in our communities. Something is broken in the way that our economy is working, because it is letting down too many people. It is not right and it is not morally justifiable and it requires urgent action from all Governments. I urge all Senedd Members to support our motion today.