Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government – in the Senedd at 2:04 pm on 27 April 2022.
Our package of support that we're able to offer people living in Wales is almost double that which we've received in consequentials from the UK Government. So, you will get the £150 payment in households in bands A to D in Wales, but you'll also get it in all of the other remaining bands if you are somebody who is in receipt of the council tax reduction scheme, recognising that there will be people beyond those bands A to D who are struggling and will be needing some extra assistance with their bills. We've also, earlier on this year, provided a £200 payment to those households on the lowest incomes. We did that without any extra support from the UK Government and it's not something that was available to people across the border in England, and we've committed to providing that additional £200 again later on this year, but we're looking to expand the number of households that will benefit from that. And just to be clear, this is not money that will have to be paid back to the Welsh Government. Unlike the UK Government's lending scheme, we will actually be providing that as a grant to households and we look forward to doing so later on this year because we recognise that the cost-of-living crisis will be with us for some time—it's not just a one-off event.