I'm grateful to all those who contributed towards the formation of this committee's report. As we've heard already this afternoon, this is an issue of huge pertinence to families and households right across Wales. But as this report rightly notes, the escalation in the cost of living is being felt even more acutely in Wales's rural communities, such as those in my own constituency of Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire.

Rural Wales has always faced connectivity challenges, be that physically with transport, or technologically with broadband and communications infrastructure. If you combine this with older, colder and off-grid housing stock, then these pre-existing issues compound the escalating stress and damage to the cost of living. This is why I was pleased to note recommendation 20 of this report,

'Welsh Government must ensure its plans to support off-grid households through this winter are robust. This should include either extending the ability for off-grid households to access support via the Discretionary Assistance Fund or the Fuel Voucher scheme.'

It seeks to alleviate this situation, and I am pleased to learn that this recommendation has been accepted in full by the Welsh Government. That being said, it is important that we see the cost of living as an evolving situation and there could come a time when—arguably now—the existing financial support package does not go far enough. This is then exacerbated when we take into consideration the influence of connectivity and housing-stock issues, which then further escalates the crisis we have identified. And so when we talk about rural communities in this context, we are recognising that individuals are paying a higher cost to live in rural Wales, where salaries don't reflect this.

There's a higher cost to heat your home because you live in a 150-year-old cottage that isn't afforded the modern-day luxuries of thermal insulation, a higher cost to travel because you live 45 minutes away from your nearest supermarket, 55 minutes away from a hospital, or an hour and a half away from your nearest city. So, there's less efficient heating of your home and you're filling up your car with fuel more often, and pay a surcharge for the distance that your goods and services have travelled. This is the reality of the cost of rural living, and as far as I and my constituents are concerned, this is not a factor that is recognised enough.

Paragraph 76 of this report notes the rural affairs Minister's comments on this situation. She told members of the committee that

'For the off-grid properties, we'— being the Welsh Government—

'are looking at what further we can do to support.'

I should note that these comments were made in June, and yet, several months on, our rural communities are still left in the same situation. So, given the opportunity that this report has presented, I would like to ask the Welsh Government whether they have any intention of extending support to further assist our communities.

In conclusion, this report has shone an important spotlight on a matter that is ever evolving. Crucially, the current cost of living is an issue that is going to be with us for the foreseeable future, so in every decision on financial support that the Welsh Government makes, I would urge you to take into consideration the rural cost premium to ensure that communities aren't being short-changed because of their postcode.

I'd like to end by echoing the words of my fellow committee member Luke in thanking our Chair, Paul Davies, for his continued excellent chairmanship of this committee, our committee clerking team, and all of those who contributed by oral or written evidence to this report. Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd.