I've heard the Conservatives say in the Senedd that they believe the way out of poverty is by working their way out, but many people in poverty are in work or struggling to find decent work that fits in with childcare. Expected long hours of work and shift patterns are often horrendous, and there has been a race to the bottom in employment standards, increasing productivity and the efficiency at the cost of the worker. In Wales, one of the biggest employers is public services, with care workers, teaching assistants and hospital porters, but public services funding was cut from 2010 for 10 years, year upon year, causing an impact on that, on public services funding.

With predictions putting energy price rises at 50 per cent once the cap is lifted in April, few households across Wales will avoid feeling the pinch this year. The universal credit cut could not come at a worse time, with household books already balanced by the margins. It's thanks to the Welsh Government's intervention with the roll-out of the winter fuel support scheme that many of the most vulnerable households are receiving a lifeline to deal with immediate pressures, but longer term solutions are needed.

Last week, I met Citizens Advice in Denbighshire to hear about the work that they do to support families to increase income, deal with debt and reduce household bills, and I would like to share today some of the challenges that were highlighted to me by Citizens Advice that could be addressed as part of an emergency cost-of-living plan going forward. Firstly, we need to address the inequality in access to affordable energy. At present, the energy efficiency rating of local authority housing stock varies greatly. I've been contacted by one of the residents whose outdated storage heaters are costing him £8 a day just to keep warm. Those living in private rented accommodation also often face paying over the odds to heat poorly insulated homes with inefficient heating systems. Issues like this need to be urgently addressed, and I hope the roll-out of the retrofitting programme will be continuing at pace.

On top of this, many tenants are forced to use prepayment meters, which in effect adds a poverty premium to the cost of energy, stigmatising those in rented accommodation. Given the advances in metering technology, it seems totally unjustifiable that someone on a prepayment meter should pay more for what they use.

We also need to ensure that the most vulnerable in our society are receiving the benefits that they are entitled to. At present, the Welsh Government-funded Advicelink service provides free advice on a range of subjects, including welfare, but I'd like to see increased funding for proactive campaigns to ensure that people are aware of the support they're entitled to.

In October 2019, the older people's commissioner worked closely with Transport for Wales to include an information leaflet about pension credit with all renewed concessionary bus passes that were being sent to everyone in Wales over the age of 60. Following that campaign, the number of new claimants was 26 per cent higher than the average per quarter over the last two years. I would welcome an expansion of a campaign such as this, for example advertising on pharmacy bags, which could increase awareness about the support that people in Wales are entitled to.

Many of the levers of powers that impact the cost of living remain in Westminster, and we need the UK Government to act now to avoid catastrophic energy-price hikes, but it is important to remember the difference our Welsh Government does and can make to households right across Wales during this difficult time.

And, Llywydd, please can I apologise for my dog's growling and moaning in the background?