During my time as county councillor, I gained first-hand experience of people struggling with fuel poverty and trying to cope with the additional burden of faulty heating systems, especially off grid. I was asked to visit an elderly resident who was having problems with her oil central heating. The lady had her doors and windows wide open to release the terrible fumes, and the house was absolutely freezing. The leaking oil boiler was in the old lady's pantry and it was terrible. Not only was the lady suffering fumes and was cold, she had mobility issues and was partially sighted as well. I soon discovered that others had boilers installed in the old pantries. 

I also visited residents of a sheltered housing accommodation complex, and they had storage heaters that ran out of heat by four o'clock, and then had to plug in electric heaters, which were really costly. They were cold in their properties, and I campaigned to get mains gas up to their village. The council were eventually able to work with the utility company and they helped to fund it, and it made such a difference. They installed gas central heating in the properties. Some were suspicious of having gas, but many felt blessed not to have the large old boilers inside the houses, and the homes were so much warmer with a reliable form of heating. 

I've been contacted by residents who have had broken old boilers and no central heating, and unable to afford to replace them, wondering what they can do, and they've been put in touch with the grant funding from Welsh Government. They've been upgraded to gas boilers, taking up little room and being reliable through the scheme. I'm telling these stories because not all properties, especially older ones, are suitable for air source heat pumps, and replacement gas boilers over recent years have been extremely beneficial to many, and should not be discounted, especially for those with no alternatives when they've been absolutely desperate. This funding has been a lifeline to many people. 

Where possible and in all new-build homes, air source heat pumps should be, of course, used, and solar, and I've seen the benefit of this being installed. Ten years ago, when I visited this elderly lady, we also had a new development being built of 43 houses, and they all had air source heat pumps. Again, people were suspicious of them, but they worked and they've been really good. That, again, was thanks to Welsh Government funding at that time, to help afford to build that. 

We do have issues, though, with connecting to grid, and that overlaps into the next debate going forward. Where solar energy has been fitted to sheltered accommodation bungalows, those that have just gone to the mains gas, there are issues that they cannot connect to the mains grid now. So, we need to make sure the boiler repairs and replacements are made in the best interests of tenants, helping to keep their bills down and their homes warm, ensuring that homes are insulated and have effective heating. It's the best tool the Welsh Government has for helping people to survive this crisis.

A lot of the houses now have also gone through enveloping works, and it really does make a difference. In fact, all the council houses now in the area that I represented have gone through the enveloping works. That's funded by the council, but also working with Welsh Government and the funding. In the shorter term, measures taken by Wales have been a lifeline, especially the vouchers for those on prepaid meters, and they've been offering vital instant relief. I've been to the foodbank for people, to help collect food, but when they've had no power to heat and to cook the food, it's been incredible, wondering what to do, and I've actually tried to help them, putting money in the meter myself. But now, to have those vouchers available is just making such a difference, so, I'm so grateful for that. We now need to ensure that the Warm Homes scheme assists as many houses as possible as quickly as possible for the long-term benefit. Thank you.