A statement from the First Minister is next, an update on the cost of living. I call on the First Minister to make his statement.

Thank you very much, Llywydd. In recent years, our work as a Government and as a Senedd has been dominated by a series of national emergencies, from the impact of austerity to preparing to leave the EU, as Alun Davies mentioned earlier, to responding to the climate emergency and dealing with the coronavirus pandemic. 

Llywydd, none of these matters are over. All are compounded by the latest emergency to face the United Kingdom: the escalating cost of living.

The war in Ukraine has seen millions of people seeking shelter and sanctuary from conflict. Many thousands of people, mainly women and children, have been welcomed here to Wales. That war is one of the reasons why food, fuel and energy prices are increasing globally and driving rising inflation. Those pressures are felt in every part of Welsh life, whether that's businesses facing bills that simply cannot be passed on to consumers, farmers dealing with rapid and rocketing costs, or public services trying to respond to never-reducing demands and ever-growing costs as budgets are eroded by the highest rates of inflation for 40 years. The Welsh Government's own budget is now worth at least £600 million less than when fixed in the UK Government's comprehensive spending review less than a year ago. And, of course, families up and down Wales face a winter not knowing how they will be able to afford the basics of food, warmth and shelter. This afternoon, Llywydd, I want to concentrate on the immediate actions we, with others, will take to address the domestic impacts of this crisis. Other ministerial colleagues will come forward with proposals to address other sectors as we understand more of the proposals emerging from the UK administration.

The Deputy Presiding Officer (David Rees) took the Chair.

Dirprwy Lywydd, I welcome any action to reduce the impact of this cost-of-living crisis on families, but if the cap on energy bills is to be financed by borrowing, then that really is, to quote so many previous Conservative Ministers, mortgaging our children's future. Instead of opting to fund this by using a windfall tax on the extraordinary and unanticipated profits made by oil and gas producers, the new Government appears to choose to load debt onto the lives of every UK citizen for years and years to come. And in doing so, it will, by deliberate decision, provide the most help to those who need it least, and the least help to those who need it most. The Resolution Foundation has estimated that the energy cap, coupled with the expected reversal of the previous Conservative Government's rise in national insurance contributions, will provide the top 10 per cent of UK earners with £4,700, and the lowest 10 per cent with £2,200—an outcome described by the new Prime Minister as one that is 'fair'. Now, as the pound depreciates further on international exchanges, and the bond markets demand higher interest rates to lend money to the United Kingdom, the result will be yet further rises in the cost of domestic borrowing, and that means more expensive mortgages and more expensive credit for Welsh citizens. Dirprwy Lywydd, this is why we will focus all our efforts this autumn on doing everything we can to support people through this crisis.

A new cost-of-living Cabinet committee has been established to take forward this work. It will meet weekly, I will chair it, and it will involve key social partners from beyond the Government. Here are just four ways in which we hope that all that work will be a real difference. Firstly, we will reframe, refocus and add to the many actions we already take to maximise the money left in the pockets of Welsh citizens to extend the help already available. And we will set new expectations for our partners to play their part in this effort. In this year alone, we will spend over £1.5 billion on schemes that put money back in people’s pockets—schemes that have a direct impact on the cost-of-living crisis. These are programmes such as the council tax reduction scheme, free prescriptions here in Wales, the education maintenance allowance, free bus travel for the over-60s, free breakfasts in primary schools, the most generous schemes for student support and funded childcare, as well as help for families with the cost of the school day.

Dirprwy Lywydd, that is only a selection of the schemes that I could have identified. And now there is to be more. Earlier this month, as part of the co-operation agreement, we started the roll-out of free school meals in our primary schools. Next week, we will open applications again for our unique winter fuel support payment, extending the eligibility so that, this time, 400,000 people in Wales will be entitled to help.

Next week, our new fuel bank scheme, which offers help to people on pre-payment meters and those who buy energy off-grid, will become operational. And next month, as the education Minister will set out in a statement later this afternoon, and in discussion with our co-operation agreement partners, we will extend free school meals again during the school holidays for the rest of this financial year. All of those measures, Dirprwy Lywydd, result in money being retained in the pockets of those citizens who need that help the most.

And in a second strand, we will fund a further round of our successful Claim What's Yours campaign this autumn. We know that millions of pounds' worth of help from UK Government schemes go unclaimed here in Wales. Forty per cent of Healthy Start vouchers, available for families with children under the age of four, are not taken up. They are worth £4.25 every week. For a family with two children under four, that's £442 a year. And every extra pound we can draw down from those schemes to which people are already entitled will go directly into the budgets of the poorest Welsh families. 

As we move into what will be a very difficult winter, it is vital that every part of the public sector here in Wales plays its part to make sure that people are able to benefit from all those sources of help—whether that's governing bodies in schools making sure that every eligible child gets a free school meal, or looking at how they can reduce the costs of school uniforms, to health visitors encouraging families to claim all the help that is available there for them. We need to make sure that, in this winter, every contact really does count.

Dirprwy Lywydd, my third strand today focuses on financial exclusion. For many Welsh households, even without the current inflationary pressures, there is little or nothing left between money coming into the household and money going out. Now, we have a network of credit unions here in Wales, which can help, and we have some innovative finance organisations that provide responsible lending to Welsh residents. But there are other examples that we can draw on in other parts of the United Kingdom to help more people who face the very real prospect of falling into debt this winter. We will bring this network of organisations and individuals in Wales together. We will involve other organisations, such as the mutual sector, our own plans for a community bank, and providers of essential services, such as Dŵr Cymru, to find new targeted solutions to help those most at risk.

For this afternoon, the final area that I want to focus on is one that is already attracting widespread attention and activity: 'warm banks', as they are called, in local communities—places where people can come to stay warm this winter. Dirprwy Lywydd, it's very difficult to believe that we have reached the point where community councils, faith groups, sports clubs, community centres are having to plan to prevent people from facing extreme fuel poverty this winter. And while we applaud these efforts, of course, motivated as they are by a determination to make a difference, every organisation I have met over this summer has told me that they wish that that sort of help were not needed.

As a starting point, we will make as a Welsh Government an additional £1 million available to support those efforts, extending their reach and their remit. A modest addition of, say, £10,000 can be the difference between enabling the effort I have mentioned to succeed, and it failing to get off the ground.

Deputy Llywydd, winter is usually a challenging time for all of us and for our public services. But the cost-of-living crisis and extraordinary energy bills, even with the Government’s cap, put incredible pressures on every family and business in Wales. The Office for Budget Responsibility has warned that the impact of this crisis could lead to the biggest drop in living standards ever seen in modern times. As a Government here in Wales, we will continue to do everything we can to support people through this crisis. Thank you.

First Minister, thank you for your statement this afternoon. It is without doubt the biggest crisis that we are facing in the current climate—the cost-of-living crisis that every household and every business is facing, whether that's here in Wales, whether that's across the rest of the United Kingdom, or indeed across the globe, in fact. There isn't a country that's immune from the pressures coming from the Ukrainian conflict, or indeed the fallout from the COVID pandemic and the squeeze on productivity around the world.

It is a fact that there will be a major financial statement on Friday highlighting how the new Government in Westminster will be making available money to households to the tune of £150 billion—£50 billion for businesses and approximately £100 billion for domestic households. That shows the strength of the union working together to bring money to the table to alleviate many of these cost-of-living pressures that we're seeing, building on the work that the UK Government has done to date, with the £37 billion that has been put on the table to alleviate the cost-of-living pressures that we've seen to date. And only today we're seeing £150 going to 6 million individuals who benefit from disability claims, going straight in to help them with cost-of-living pressures, along with the energy payments that have been made to date across the United Kingdom as part of that £37 billion. 

But I welcome some of the measures that the Welsh Government are undertaking, in particular the way the First Minister's configuring the Government to deal with this by having a sub-committee within the Government to look at this on a week-by-week, day-by-day, month-by-month basis. This is going to be a challenging winter; no-one is underestimating that whatsoever. But it is a fact that we must all make sure that, when we do put policies forward, they are affordable and, above all, they can be delivered and don't offer false hope to people, wherever they live in these islands. 

And I do have concerns—I'm quite happy to put that on the record—as to the quantum of money that would be required. But I think the quantum of money that is required emphasises the scale of the problem that not only this country is facing, but all countries are facing. I did notice that the First Minister talked about farmers and the pressures that farmers are facing. Farmers aren't immune to those cost pressures, just like everyone else. But I did offer a solution some four months ago, where the Government had within their powers—and I declare an interest as a partner in a farming business—and where they could have brought forward the single farm payment window to July, to put money into farm bank accounts so that seeds and fertilisers could be bought and so that this autumn planting season could have put crops in the ground that could be harvested. I was told at that time by the rural affairs Minister I was chasing a press release. Today, farmers in Wales have to stand shoulder to shoulder with English farmers who have their single farm payment in the bank account, but, here in Wales, we don't have that. That is one tangible implication of what the Government could have done for one particular sector to get money into bank accounts. 

I welcome the initiative around school meals, although I'm not convinced on the universal nature of the school meal concept. The First Minister and I have debated this, but when resources are tight, is it sensible that 40, 45 per cent of taxpayers benefit from the universality of school meals? But that's an ideological debate that the First Minister and I can have. The reality on the ground is that the Government is rolling this scheme out, so what I'd like to hear from the First Minister is whether schools and education authorities will be reimbursed for all the costs associated with the reconfiguration of kitchens, the increase in staffing levels that might be required for this policy, and any other associated costs specifically related to this roll out of the policy that the Government are continuing to roll out across Wales.

I'd also like to try and understand whether the First Minister will be using any of the levers around taxation that he has to raise money here in Wales. The First Minister has highlighted how he doesn't believe there should be tax cuts. I'm someone who does believe in tax cutting as a way of incentivising people to go out, put that extra shift in, put that extra overtime shift in that brings more money into the household, but the First Minister does have—[Interruption.] The First Minister—. Well, I can hear the backbench chuntering away and the finance Secretary, but if the Minister wants to raise money, he has the ability to do that by using the financial levers that were passed to him by the various Wales Acts from the Conservative Government in Westminster, and I'd be grateful to understand whether the First Minister is considering using any of those levers for the 40 or 45 per cent tax rates that are able to be adjusted accordingly, should the Government here think that necessary. It's not a route that I would suggest, but, ultimately, from his ideological position, from your ideological position, where you talk about raising taxes, you have that ability to do that.

What I would also like and fully endorse and support the First Minister in his measures around awareness, because his statement clearly identifies that money is going unclaimed. The example that he uses about a family that could be claiming an additional £450 into their household budget is a good example, because that is real money that is going unclaimed by many people across Wales, and that will help greatly with the cost-of-living pressures that they might be facing today. 

I would also like to try and understand how the First Minister is addressing the child poverty numbers that we're seeing here in Wales. Loughborough University brought forward some research work that they did just before the summer recess that indicated that, across the rest of the UK, child poverty levels were declining down to 27 per cent—still too high a figure—but regrettably, here in Wales, it has gone up to 34 per cent. Now, this statement has many initiatives that the Government have brought forward over many years, but, regrettably, we are seeing increased levels of child poverty here in Wales rather than following the UK trend, which is a declining trend. Those aren't my figures; those are Loughborough University's figures. And also, only today—

The Member has used an awful lot of his time, and gone beyond it. I've been generous. 

My final point then, if I may. And only today, we've seen figures come out about female employment in the workplace where, again, in the rest of the UK the numbers are going up, with greater numbers of females employed in the workplace, but, regrettably, in Wales we've seen a declining headcount in the workplace—a 3.5 per cent decline. What is the Welsh Government doing to make sure that there is equality in the workplace, so that we can follow the rest of the UK in increasing female participation in the workplace to get people bringing home a wage to pay those household bills? Thank you, First Minister.

Dirprwy Lywydd, thank you very much. Can I say in opening that I think, in answering First Minister's questions, I failed to recognise the generosity of the leader of the opposition's remarks about the work of Welsh Government officials over the last week? And if I failed to do so, then I want to make sure I've put it on the record now, because extraordinary efforts were made and I was grateful to the leader of the opposition for the way in which he recognised that. 

I'll focus, if I can, on the specific points that have been raised. In relation to farmers and cost pressures, 70 per cent of people's single farm payment will be in the hands of almost all farmers in Wales in October of this year. Ninety-seven per cent of all farmers in Wales received those payments in October last year, and we'll be aiming to do the same again.   

On school meals, I don't think it can be fair to say that this is an ideological difference between us. The measures that the Conservative Government in London will announce on Friday will go to every family in the land. In fact, more help will go to the best-off families than will go to the worst-off families. It is a universal approach that the UK Government will be taking. And it seems to me that if it is good enough to make sure that help goes to everybody in the energy crisis, then it can't be an ideological difference to say that help should go to every child in a primary school in Wales when it comes to free school meals. There are very good reasons why the universal approach is being taken, particularly in the free school meal sense, to make sure that we avoid the stigma that, sadly, has, for so many years, been associated with free school meals uptake.

The point that Andrew R.T. Davies raises in relation to the costing of it all: we'll provide £260 million to support local authorities to deliver that policy; £60 million of that is capital and £35 million of the £60 million was announced in detail on 7 September, to make sure that your local education authorities have the certainty that the money is there for them to improve kitchens, buy equipment and so on, to deliver the policy successfully.

I continue to be a bit bemused by the Member's question, when he tells me that he believes in cutting taxes, but wants to know what plans I have to raise them. And I've explained to him before that, if you look at what we said in our programme for government, we took a decision at the start of this term not to raise more money in taxes from people in Wales while the economy was seeking to recover from the impact of the pandemic. The stresses and strains on our economy, for all the reasons we've already explained—the impact of the war in Ukraine; the continuing impact of leaving the European Union—does not lead me to conclude that the circumstances that led us to that conclusion have been ameliorated.

On the issue of unclaimed benefit, of course we absolutely want to draw down everything that Welsh families are entitled to. And to give another example there, Dirprwy Lywydd, we believe that at the moment, in Wales today, up to £70 million may be unclaimed from child trust funds. So, children who had child trust funds deposited for them—and I know that the leader of the opposition will remember that we decided here in this Chamber to add money into the child trust funds of looked-after children, for example, in Wales—well, that money has stayed there for 18 years and now children are becoming entitled to draw it down. But because the scheme was ended back in 2010 by the coalition Government, the publicity around the scheme has diminished considerably. And already £70 million, which is there waiting to be claimed by young people in Wales, has not been drawn down. So, there clearly is more that we can do together to make sure that we do better in that way, and that will help, as will many of the measures I've outlined today, with issues of poverty in families and with children.

As to employment rates, employment rates in Wales are higher than employment rates across the United Kingdom, and the growth in employment rates has outstripped the growth in employment rates across the United Kingdom as well. One of the real challenges for the incoming UK Government is that the total workforce in the United Kingdom is still lower than it was before the pandemic hit. Many people, for whatever reason that may be, have decided not to return to the workforce, having found themselves outside it as a result of the COVID experience. Of course we want to make sure that, here in Wales, women and men have equal access to the employment market, but there are more fundamental issues at play here. The leader of the opposition began by referring to the productivity gap and one of the real constraints in being able to deal with the productivity gap is the fact that we do not have workers, sufficient workers in the United Kingdom, in order to be able to do the jobs that are available for them.

There are a number of things to be welcomed in today's statement, particularly, of course, the agreement that we've come to in terms of the provision of free school meals during school holidays. That will help very many families that are facing hardship at the moment. And, particularly, the warm banks that the First Minister referred to. Although it is regrettable that we do have to refer to these kinds of developments in the twenty-first century, they are much needed, unfortunately, at the moment. 

The Scottish Government has recently announced a set of proposals as part of its response to the cost-of-living crisis, and I was wondering if I could ask you, Prif Weinidog, if you also have plans to introduce measures that they have announced in relation to housing, particularly a moratorium on evictions similar to the one that was introduced in the pandemic and an associated rent freeze across all sectors—public, private and social. We’re seeing huge inflation, aren’t we, in rent costs in Wales? Indeed, the Centre for Cities recently pointed out that, actually, Wales was one of the worst areas in terms of inflationary costs in the UK. In fact, it’s Wales and the north of England that are actually seeing the highest rises in costs for families. So, the proposal that the Scottish Government has introduced is, I think, absolutely imperative here in Wales.

In relation to energy, of course, investing in insulation, important for environmental, long-term reasons, is now even more important as a result of this immediate crisis. So, we seem to be in a little bit of an interregnum between the old programmes that are coming to an end and the very extensive, ambitious plans that the Welsh Government has to meet its targets for decarbonisation and energy insulation by the end of this decade. Can we pump prime now? Can we bring forward those capital investment plans, so that we can provide as much immediate help to families as we can, again using that dual purpose of addressing the cost-of-living crisis while doing something that we need to do for more longer term reasons?

Bringing you back, of course, to transport, which we discussed earlier. And, by the way, the Scottish Labour Party is criticising the fare freeze in Scotland, saying that it’s not going far enough; it’s calling for the halving of rail fares in Scotland. But could the First Minister say when we can expect an announcement at least on rail fares in Wales for next year?

You mentioned the educational maintenance allowance. Of course, I think it was created about 20 years ago; it hasn’t kept up with inflation. So, could we not see that increase to £45, which is where it would be if it had kept up with inflation? Now, surely, is the time to do that, when so many young people are suffering the worst effects of this cost-of-living crisis.

You refer to the ‘Claim what’s yours’ campaign. I absolutely support making sure that people claim what they’re entitled to. Are we doing the same for Welsh Government funds, so that we make sure that there isn’t underclaiming there as well? Perhaps if you could say what plans you have on that.

And, in relation to the Scottish Government as well, one thing that they have been able to do in the areas where there is devolution of welfare payments—so, about 15 per cent, there or there about, of welfare payments are devolved—they’ve uprated those using the power that they have. Surely, this is the strongest argument in favour of the devolution of welfare payments. That 15 per cent of welfare payments is not devolved to Wales, therefore we are entirely dependent on the decisions of the Conservative Government in Westminster, which is not as progressive. So, surely now is the time as well to make sure that we are making the strongest case possible for the devolution of those powers.

You said you were focusing here on the domestic aspect of the crisis, but can I just ask, obviously, the effect on businesses is going to have a domestic consequence, isn’t it, if people lose their jobs? So, is the Welsh Government going to propose increasing the level of funding for businesses that are also facing extreme economic pressure, which in many, many cases will drive those businesses into bankruptcy and lead to unemployment? Welsh Government urgent support for the business sector is critically important at this time as well.

Thank you very much to Adam Price for what he said at the beginning of his contribution. We are eager now to do more to help families during the holidays in October, at Christmas, in February and at Easter too. That is going to cost millions of pounds, and I'm very grateful for the discussions that we've had to come to that conclusion.

Llywydd, I find myself in much the same position as I was earlier in the afternoon. There is a strong case to be made, I'm quite sure, for almost everything that the leader of Plaid Cymru would like us to spend more money on: more money on insulation, more money on EMAs, more money on rail fares, more money on businesses. Every one of those will have a case to be made for it.

The Scottish Government, of course, faces the same dilemma as we do. In order to fund the additional measures that they have taken, they have had to reduce other budgets by £700 million, and alongside the additional things they are doing, they have already outlined £560 million of cuts that they will make to things that otherwise they would have been able to do. That's the point I make to the Member, really: that for every one of the things that we could do more of, you can only do it by doing less of something you've already planned to do. Our budget is 100 per cent committed and more. Our capital budget in this year is overprogrammed to the tune of £100 million. There is no reserve. There is no sum of money waiting to be drawn on for these new purposes.

As he will know, we had long negotiations over the sums of money needed to support the 47 items in the co-operation agreement to make sure that they can be properly implemented, including the £260 million on universal free school meals in primary schools. So, there is no difference between us on the idea that there is more that we could do, or would want to do, but we face the same dilemma that the Scottish Government face, that if we want to do anything new, it can only be done by stopping doing something that we are already doing. That's the more difficult conversation that has to be had, alongside listing all the good things that could be added to that list.

We have a rent freeze in the public sector here in Wales until the end of March, because we've already announced any increases in those rents. We will continue to work, as we are committed to doing, on proposals that we will bring forward in a White Paper on rent controls here in Wales. Because I agree there as well with the leader of Plaid Cymru that there are particular costs that drive inflation and the impact on families here in Wales, including, as we often say here, the impact of standing charges in the energy field—standing charges that I've long regarded as being ought to be part of the past, not the current way in which we charge for energy, and that fall particularly heavily on consumers in Wales.

I can't be alone in feeling my blood boiling when I listen to the weasel words of the Conservative Party and when I watch their crocodile tears whilst they wring their hands at the consequences of the policies that they themselves are delivering: lifting the limits on bankers' bonuses, tax cuts for the rich, whilst cutting services for the poorest. It is appalling. And they walk away from it, of course. They leave the Chamber when we are talking about poor people and when we are talking about how poor people are suffering the consequences of their policies, because they're not interested.

The comparison between what we hear from there and what we hear from the First Minister couldn't be clearer. It's a Government that is taking all of the actions that it can in Wales to protect people, a Government that is using its power as a catalyst to bring people together, to bring communities together, to act as a catalyst to protect people, and a Government that is mobilising the whole resources of Welsh taxpayers to help people when they're at their most needy. That is the sort of Government that we need. First Minister, it is a credit to you and the team of Ministers that we can rely on a Welsh Government at a time of crisis like this, and it's a credit to this Government that they are taking the actions they are taking.

Could you, First Minister, assure me that you will be doing everything that you can to communicate what you are doing to protect people to people in Blaenau Gwent and across the whole of Wales so that people know what help is available, people understand what the Welsh Government is doing, people know that they've got a Government that is on their side when they're facing a time of crisis? It is important, when we'll hear from the so-called Chancellor of the Exchequer later this week that they are protecting the interests of the richest and party donors in London, that this is a Government that will stand with the people of Blaenau Gwent and the people of Wales and will ensure that every resource we have available to us is put at the disposal of the neediest, the most vulnerable and the poorest in this country. 

I absolutely agree with Alun Davies that, in this crisis, we have to do absolutely everything we can and that that is not a job just for the Welsh Government. We fund a single advice service here in Wales. It's one of the things that Lord Thomas, in his report on the devolution of justice, pointed out—that increasingly Welsh Governments have had to take on responsibilities for plugging the gap in services that are not devolved. We're glad to do it, because those advice services really matter to people. But if we think that those advice services are going by themselves to shoulder the burden of all the need for advice that there will be in Wales this autumn and winter, then I'm afraid that is unlikely to be something that they will be able to sustain.

I am very clear in my mind that in every single encounter that a public service worker has with a family in need this winter, there will be a responsibility on that public service to make sure that that person or that family is getting every piece of help that they can. When a social worker is out there meeting a family, making sure that every scheme that the Welsh Government can offer, every bit of help that can be drawn down from the UK Government—. That should be a responsibility that they are prepared to shoulder. As I said in health visitor terms, when a health visitor is there with a family, the financial health of that family will be having a direct impact on the physical health of that family as well. And this winter, of all winters, all public service contact should have that income maximisation, drawing down whatever help is available, at the forefront of their mind. We will want to do that as a Welsh Government, but we need to rely on that wider army of people that we have in Wales, whether they are in the third sector, in voluntary organisations and in our public services. When they are in contact with a family who needs help, as well as all the other things that I know they have to do, this winter, that cost-of-living lens must be one that I think they apply. In that way, I think we will be able to make the inroads we want to make so that nobody misses out on help that is available to them, because that help is going to be so urgently needed. 

First Minister, there is no doubt that very many families in the most vulnerable circumstances in Wales are extremely worried at what will come at them this winter, and I think we can all understand that, given the situation that we face. This does require urgent action, I believe, from all levels of Government and partner organisations. And of course, the UK Government has the prime responsibility, given the levers that are available to it, including the benefits system. I chair the cross-party group on poverty in the Senedd, as you know, First Minister, and we're very concerned at the UK Government's approach to universal credit: removing the £20 uplift; the long waits that people face as new claimants; the deductions that are made, very often, to those benefits because of either overpayments or debt; and also the UK Government's approach to sanctioning. I know that the House of Commons Work and Pensions Committee has called for a pause to deductions to recover debts to give some breathing space to families at such a difficult time. Will you, First Minister, support the calls of that committee, and take every opportunity to urge the UK Government to do the right thing and help our struggling families during this incredibly difficult time to come? 

I thank John Griffiths for those important points. He's right; families across Wales face this coming autumn and winter with a real sense of trepidation. We've been in a sort of phoney war, haven't we, on this, really, because people are yet to see the real impact of the increasing bills that began on 1 April this year. During the long summer months, people are in some ways able to make adjustments—you don't have to heat the house, you don't have to turn the light on in the early evening—but they see October coming and they know that that way of coping will no longer be available to them. John Griffiths is absolutely right about the sense of foreboding that that creates for so many families.

The benefits system ought to take the heavy lifting of all this. That's what it was designed to do. That is why James Griffiths, the Member of Parliament for Llanelli, designed the social security system in the way that he did, so that no family should be fearful of destitution here in the United Kingdom. But with £1,200 taken out of the budgets of families just as these bills begin to rise, the holes in the safety net become ever greater. Thousands of people in Wales now rely on the discretionary assistance fund to see them through the five-week waiting period, the five weeks before you get any help out of the UK system. Thankfully, our discretionary assistance fund allows families to draw down some help to get them through that very difficult period.

While I don't agree with all the points that the leader of Plaid Cymru made earlier about the dismemberment of a UK benefits system—because in the end, it has the potential to be a great engine for redistribution in the hands of the right Government—I do agree, and have said so previously, with the conclusions of the committee in the last Senedd term that John Griffiths chaired, that devolution of the administration of social security would make a real difference here in Wales. Of course we would have a different sanctioning regime if it was in the hands of this Senedd; of course we would have a different approach to deductions from people's bare-bone benefits for debts that they owe elsewhere. The case for devolution of administration of welfare has become even stronger since his committee first investigated it and made those recommendations. I'm very pleased indeed to associate myself strongly with those proposals.

I really value these measures coming forward, but to deliver them, we need public services, and I'm really concerned; I've heard from the Prime Minister about funding for businesses and also for households, but nothing for public services, and they're facing the rising energy costs as well, and the cost-of-living crisis. They've had 10 years of austerity, so they're already cut to the bone going forward, struggling to recruit, and dealing with the pandemic as well, and they're needed more than ever, I think, to help people. Does the First Minister know if the funding for businesses will include public services? If not, would you be able to have conversations with the UK Government Treasury regarding funding for public services going forward, so they can deal with rising energy costs as well? Regarding the discretionary assistance fund, I've been contacted by different agencies including the Flintshire Local Voluntary Council. Could I ask that you look at whether that could rise from a £250 payment to a £500 payment, so that residents could afford to buy a tankful of oil? Because they cannot at the moment with the £250. Thank you. 

I thank Carolyn Thomas for those questions, Llywydd. In relation to public service funding, there are two different issues, aren't there? There is the issue of energy costs, and the announcement on 8 September did suggest that there would be help for public services with energy costs, as well as help to businesses, but we will not know any more than that until we see the mini budget, or whatever it is to be called, on Friday of this week.

But, beyond the energy costs, there is the general impact of inflation, which erodes the purchasing power of the budgets of all public services. I said earlier: the Welsh Government's own budget will buy £600 million and more less value than it would have in November last year. In November last year, the UK Government, in their comprehensive spending review, decided how much money the Welsh Government needed to discharge its responsibilities. In effect, we now have hundreds of millions of pounds less than they said we needed then. So, I think it's a completely legitimate expectation that the UK Government will want to put public services back in the position that they themselves had decided was necessary less than a year ago.

As to the discretionary assistance fund, it is under enormous pressure. The claims on it go up every month from people who have nowhere else to go. Fortunately, in relation to the specific point that Carolyn Thomas made about people who are off-gas and therefore have to buy heating oil, the fuel bank scheme that will become operational this month will offer help for people in those circumstances. People on pre-payment meters—nothing at all in the Government's announcement to help them, the poorest people who buy the most expensive energy, and nothing to help people who are off-grid either. Our fuel bank scheme will do both.

Behind every threat, there is an opportunity, and I've long been an advocate of community-focused schools. So, I've already had conversations about heat banks in schools, in community centres, in churches, and people are really pulling together. And I just wondered if we can somehow extend the remit of community-focused schools to enable us to offer community learning, community-focused homework, community sport in the schools that we are already funding as part of the taxpayers' contributions. This would obviously be hugely beneficial to enable people to get together and learn together, rather than simply be shivering in front of a metal box. 

Llywydd, they are really important points that Jenny Rathbone makes. The only way that we will be able to succeed in creating banks that people can use is by using facilities that are already there and operating. And community-focused schools is one of those, but there are many, many others—rugby clubs that are open and are the focus of many communities; maybe they can do more if there is a bit of help for them. Voluntary and faith group-run centres that could extend their opening hours if they had a bit of extra help. 

We can't start this from scratch; we're talking about this coming October. We have to build on what is already available and get that to do more. And then, we have to bend the budgets of other organisations to support them in that work. I absolutely expect the arts council and the sports council, for example, to be looking at their budgets and asking whether there are things that they could do, so if people are coming together in new facilities of that sort, there are things for them to do. The idea that people just come there and sit there all day and do nothing is not going to be attractive to anybody. So, we have to see that all the budgets that are there, in every part of the public sector, are being interrogated again through the lens that we've been discussing this afternoon. And then, as Jenny Rathbone says, opportunities for sport, opportunities for learning, opportunities for creativity—all those things that will make people's time, if they come to such centres, productive and worthwhile, we need to see all that being part of this rapidly needed new set of arrangements. 

And, finally, Sioned Williams. 

Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Prif Weinidog, you've rightly outlined the crucial importance of getting what support is available into eligible people's pockets. So, could I ask you: what evaluation of the last round of the winter fuel support scheme across local authorities has taken place? Because I'm sure that you agree with me that we need to know what worked well and what needs to be improved, especially around processing and engagement procedures and practices, to ensure maximum take-up.  

Thanks to Sioned Williams for that important question. So, there is an evaluation of it all. It has led to the change in the eligibility criteria that I mentioned earlier to make sure that some people who, the first time around, the rules didn't accommodate them, didn't respond to their circumstances, will now be able to take advantage of the scheme. That's why the number of people who we hope to help can be as high as 400,000 people.

There are things that local authorities will want to do to help as well. We know that some local authorities in Wales do better in the business of automaticity. If you are entitled to one form of help, without you having to do anything, it opens the door to all sorts of other help that you might be able to get. Other local authorities require people to apply time and time again; every time you want a piece of help, you've got to apply again. Unsurprisingly, local authorities that have the first approach have higher levels of take-up than local authorities that go for the second way of doing things. And we've been talking with the Welsh Local Government Association to make sure that the experience of those local authorities that—I can't think of the right word—automatically provide the help to which people are entitled as soon as they first ask for help do better in fuel bank delivery, as well as in other things; in winter fuel delivery, as well as in other aspects. And we want more local authorities to learn from the experience of the successful ones.  

I thank the First Minister.