Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:20 pm on 14 June 2022.
People who are struggling as a result of the cost-of-living crisis obviously can turn to their single advice fund providers, and I will go on to the discretionary assistance fund as well, because, obviously, that's already in place. I think it is important that we get this message out, isn't it, about the access to the new fuel voucher scheme. We're getting it out, obviously, through our foodbanks, but of course many people who are going to foodbanks are referred; they have contact with agencies. But this is something where we need to have a publicity campaign, a communications campaign, and I certainly welcome the fact that you're asking these questions. I did some publicity about it on Friday, but we need to get the message through to people, and I know that the fuel foundation want to engage. We did it very quickly—we got this scheme under way, and now we have to make it operational and implement it so we reach out to the most needy and vulnerable. But I'm sure all of us as Senedd Members will know people who've stopped us in the street, who've come to our surgeries, who are in this position—the heating or eating circumstances. And we can now point to the scheme, particularly as so many of those are dependent on prepayment meters.
The next winter fuel support scheme—well, we certainly want to get it out before October; I want to get it out in September. I'll certainly be announcing very shortly the extended criteria for the winter fuel support scheme, because we came to it last December because of the emerging cost-of-living crisis. It's going to be extending the eligibility, as I've said. It's crucial that local authorities are fully engaged in this as well—they're the ones who are managing the winter fuel support payments—and, indeed, alongside the emerging way in which we are actually being a force for social security. I like the word 'social security'. I like the fact that social security is what we believe in. Yes, we're talking about welfare, we're talking in our co-operation agreement about looking at our powers in relation to welfare, and we've had all the work that was done by John Griffiths in the former Senedd, so we've got an extensive evidence base and we have an agreement to progress this in terms of what we could achieve, what we could—you know, in terms of UK Government's centralising force, where are we here? They're not delivering, so I look forward to progressing that. But we now have such a range of direct benefits that we're paying that this makes sense, doesn't it, to progress this one.
Finally, I will come to your point about the other needs that people have in terms of flooring, as well as other equipment as well. I think that's something I want to now discuss with officials and the third sector in terms of discretionary assistance payments. I think the discretionary assistance payments scheme, which we've of course extended for the pandemic, as you know—and you have supported the fact that this is continuing, in the ways in which we're funding it—I think the discretionary assistance fund is very important, because it does enable people to have more than one payment in terms of support—more than £100 million invested in the discretionary assistance fund and the winter fuel support scheme this year. And indeed, this is going to ensure more people continue to receive urgent and emergency support when they need it, and that's including white goods, but we need to look at these other aspects.
But I will finally say, and I think the Minister for Climate Change is here with me, that, yes, indeed—the Minister was with me, speaking as well on a whole range of issues and her responsibilities about the cost-of-living crisis, but registered social landlord partners and local authorities in terms of housing providers, they're all engaged in this, and we will certainly raise this in terms of, particularly, your reference to flooring. Many of us have also got charities in our constituencies now that are playing a role in this respect. There used to be something wonderful called the social fund. That all went. Previous Conservative Governments got rid of the social fund. We kept the funding going and developed the discretionary assistance fund. But we are actually evaluating the discretionary assistance fund later on this year to see its role and its context. So, certainly, that is very helpful. And finally, of course, we've always called for the reinstatement of that £20, that lost, cruel cut of £20 to universal credit.