1. Will the Minister provide an update on the level of fuel poverty in the Rhondda constituency? OQ58137

In Rhondda Cynon Taf, 14,716 households have received our £200 winter fuel support scheme payment. Projections published in April 2022 suggest up to 45 per cent of all households in Wales could be in fuel poverty and up to 98 per cent of lower income households could now be in fuel poverty.

Thank you, Minister. Taking the 2021 modelled estimated fuel poverty and revising them using fuel prices from 1 April 2022, up to 45 per cent or 640,000 households could be in fuel poverty following the price cap increase, and energy price rises are likely to hit lower income households disproportionately. Having worked in the third sector before being elected to this place, I've seen first hand the devastating effects that fuel poverty has, but I also know the difference that third sector organisations and charities can make. So, with this knowledge, how is the Welsh Government working with the voluntary sector to safeguard families hit the hardest by the Tory cost-of-living crisis? And what steps are Welsh Government taking to ensure families have the security they need for the next energy price increase this winter?

Well, thank you very much, Buffy Williams, for that question. The third sector has been very involved nationally and locally in terms of addressing these issues for those families—so, many households they work with that are hardest hit by the Tory cost-of-living crisis.

Now, we held a round-table summit back on 17 February with key external stakeholders, including the third sector, National Energy Action, the Trussell Trust and Citizens Advice, and we explored what more could be done to support hard-pressed families through this cost-of-living crisis. We had a further one on tackling food poverty. But, importantly, our fuel poverty advisory group is taking place on 13 June, and they will help us from the voluntary and energy sector to co-ordinate action to improve household resilience in advance of winter.

Minister, it is without doubt that the rise in the wholesale cost of energy is pushing many households across the country into fuel poverty, and I welcome the efforts of the UK Government to help struggling households by providing £15 billion-worth of support, which includes a £400 energy bill rebate for all families in the autumn and additional payments worth £650 for 8 million of the country's poorest households.

As you know, another reason that can lead to high energy bills is the energy inefficiency of our homes. In Wales, we have some of the most energy-inefficient housing stock in the UK and this is a major contributing factor to household fuel poverty. Out of the domestic housing stock in RCT, 71 per cent of properties have energy performance ratings rated D or below. If you single out the Rhondda, this number rises to 81 per cent. In fact, only 62 properties in the Rhondda are rated A. This means that most people in the Rhondda are going to disproportionately feel the impact of wholesale price rises. It also means that it's unlikely that these homes will have improved energy ratings significantly in five or 10 years' time without massive investment, making them susceptible to further bill shocks. Do you agree with me, and many Members in this Chamber, Minister, that rather than spend £100 million on another 36 Members for this Chamber, the Government would be better off spending that money on improving the energy efficiency of people's homes and helping them out of fuel poverty, and, if not, can the Minister explain why 36 more Members is a greater priority than warmer homes?

Well, the Member makes a very important point about home energy. Since 2009-10 to the end of March 2021, more than £394 million has been invested to improve home energy efficiency through the Warm Homes programme, and that's benefited more than 67,100 lower income households, and also, importantly, energy efficiency advice, through the Warm Homes programme—160,000 people also receiving that. And we, of course, now have our Warm Homes programme consultation programme moving forward. What is crucial is that we invest in tackling both fuel poverty and food poverty, and we have actually—. Although we welcome many of the announcements made by the UK Government, these are very short term, and what we have done, in terms of a £380 million investment into tackling the cost-of-living crisis and fuel and food poverty, is still ask the UK Government to reduce household fuel bills by removing all social and environmental policy costs from household energy bills, and for these costs to be met from general taxation. In fact, I met with energy providers only two weeks ago, and many of them were calling for that, as well as introducing a lower price cap for low-income households to ensure they can meet the costs of their energy needs, now and in the future. But another key point, which I hope the Member would join me in calling for, is an increase in local housing allowance rates and increased funding for discretionary housing payments, because this is also another impact of the cost-of-living crisis, in terms of debt and the difficulty and the potential for more people to become homeless as a result of rent arrears.