5. What assessment has the Welsh Government made of the impact that the UK Government’s fiscal statement will have on people's ability to pay for energy bills? OQ58477

Thank you for the question. The measures announced in the Chancellor's statement are unfair. They fail to target support for the most vulnerable, whilst providing significant benefit to the richest. This will mean that more households in Wales will struggle to meet the cost of energy and other essential items, resulting in increased levels of poverty.

Thank you for that answer, Minister, and I agree with your conclusion. These plans will do little to support families through this difficult time and instead focus on putting more money in the hands of the rich. This makes the support from Welsh Government even more vital, and I appreciate that the Government has given out far more in cost-of-living grants than it has received from the UK Government for this purpose. There are concerns, however, that these grants may be inaccessible to those who need them most, due to digital exclusion or lack of access to public services. It was raised recently at a cost-of-living summit that I attended at Plas Madoc, with my colleague Ken Skates.

During the pandemic, the Welsh Government wrote to every household to ensure that everyone had access to the information that they needed. Minister, do you agree with me that a similar campaign is needed, as we face the height of this cost-of-living crisis, so that everyone is aware of the financial support available here in Wales and how they can access it?

Well, that's a really important question, Carolyn Thomas, and it follows on from what Russell George was saying earlier on: how do we actually make sure that the benefits that we've got reach the people who are entitled to them? We know that many already—I've said, I think, that some of the £200 fuel support grant is going straight into accounts, because people are digitally engaged and they've got accounts for their council tax reduction scheme. So, we are looking at ways in which, with our partners in local government, our registered social landlords, the third sector, Citizens Advice, how we can make sure that we can, if necessary, help face-to-face, and train more people in benefits advice. Certainly, Jenny Rathbone shared a similar meeting last week in Llanedeyrn, where health visitors said, 'Yes, they can say, "You might be entitled to this", but people then need help with filling in application forms, et cetera'. So, this is a crucial practical thing that we need to do and we will do, but I want to just say that our winter campaign 'Claim what's yours', the next stage—we need you all to help us with this—is going to target homes through radio, television adverts, calls to the Advicelink campaign phone number. Everybody here has constituents, you want them to claim what's theirs. And, just to say that 9,000 people have responded to the campaign call to action to contact Advicelink Cymru, and that has helped people to claim over £2.6 million of additional income.

I did ask Chloe Smith, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, as did my colleagues from Scotland and Northern Ireland, whether they will join us, the UK Government, in a UK-wide take-up campaign, and I'm sure that you would agree that this is the way forward. 

Well, on a more positive note than my colleague, I'm actually quite pleased with the steps that the UK Government are taking. Everything that we're doing now, it's a mini budget for growth, it's a mini budget to get people back into work. And I have to ask, following a COVID pandemic and the fact that we've got a shocking war in Ukraine, exactly how would you do it and how would Labour do it. You have no solutions, just criticisms. And I tell you what, the people have seen through it. The Prime Minister's speech today has gone down fantastically, and there are positive comments everywhere. So, anyway, we've also taken—and when I say 'we', the UK Government has taken a number of steps that will benefit the people of Wales: energy bills capped at £2,500 when they could have been £6,000—this, in addition to the £400 discount for each household—[Interruption.]

No point of order. Carry on with your question, Janet. 

I am. Thank you, Llywydd. And additional payments for the most vulnerable. In the mini budget, it was announced that 1.2 million people would benefit from the cut to the basic rate of income tax and 2 million are going to get a national insurance cut of £235—[Interruption.]

No, no point of order. I'm sure that the Minister will respond. 

These measures show that it is the UK Conservative Government that's trying to ease the burdens on our households here in Wales. Due to the cut to stamp duty in England, the Welsh Government is now set to receive an additional £70 million. So, will the Minister tell me exactly how you are going to spend that money?

I'm absolutely astonished that you can stand there and have the gall to talk in that way, Janet Finch-Saunders, about the situation where we have people in Wales now who have not got their electricity on, who do not know where they're going to get their next meal from, as a result of your Government [Interruption.] I'm not going to repeat everything—I'm sure that the Llywydd will stop me anyway—but where are they going to get the £45 billion from? They've already had two u-turns. Where are they—? So, I'll tell you where—the Resolution Foundation says that it's either cutting public services, or it's going to cut welfare benefits, which will cause more poverty and destitution.

We've just got to recognise that uprating benefits, including the state pension, by earnings instead of inflation—. A 4 per cent real-terms cut would actually cost a typical low-income working family with two children over £1,000 a year. What are you going to do with those constituents, Janet Finch-Saunders? Can I just say that Wales Fiscal Analysis has noted that in Wales, nearly 90 per cent of the gains will go to households in the top 50 per cent? Do you agree with that? Ninety per cent of your policies, fiscally, will go to the top 50 per cent here in Wales; 40 per cent will go to households in the top 10 per cent in your constituency. Why can't the UK Government get its priorities right? They should target the windfall tax to pay for this, in order to pay for their tax-cutting budget. It is not going to deliver growth; it's going to deliver poverty and destitution, and that's a tragedy for the people we represent in Wales.

Question 6, to be answered by the Deputy Minister. James Evans.