Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:18 pm on 14 June 2022.
Diolch yn fawr, Sioned Williams. Yes, you clearly identify, as I have done, the scale of the crisis—inflation now at its highest level since March 1982, when it stood at 9.1 per cent; April's rise, driven by energy costs, increased by more than 50 per cent by the rise in the energy cap; and the Institute of Fiscal Studies saying the poorest households face inflation rates of 10.9 per cent. The Jack Monroe, I think, analysis is really appropriate for us to recognise—they are 3 per cent higher than inflation rates for the richest decile, and I really do value that focus on what it actually means for the poorest households in Wales, And, of course, there's the fact that we've got the NIESR—National Institute of Economic and Social Research—saying that food and energy bills are greater than their disposable income. They're warning, I think—and this is why this is such a key issue, and throughout this afternoon already, in the First Minister's questions—this is going to push thousands of households, if we can't intervene and the UK Government doesn't take immediate action, into debt and destitution. But this where the options that we've taken, particularly in terms of the fuel vouchers and that partnership with the fuel foundation, I think, are so important. They already have a partnership with the Scottish Government, and they're well-established in terms of how this can operate, so I'm glad that the chair of the cross-party group on fuel poverty is now engaging with the Fuel Bank Foundation, because they have experience of how to manage it. And yes, there are criteria in terms of access to the fuel bank support: clearly, they've got to be pre-payment energy customers or off the gas grid and be in intense financial crisis. But the situation in terms of the credit going as far as the debt emerging from the standing charges—I will clarify that point with them in terms of how this scheme will operate. We need to make it operate based on experience and based on how we can help people at the sharp end.