Written question WQ84430
- Asked by
- Janet Finch-SaundersConservative
- To be answered by
- Minister for Social Justice
- Tabled
- Due
- Answered
- Time to answer
- 9 days
Question
Given that individuals on pension credit will not be receiving the winter fuel support payment from the Welsh Government, what steps is the Welsh Government taking to ensure older people are not being pushed into fuel poverty?
Answer
Answered by Minister for Social Justice
The increase in the domestic energy variable and default tariff cap announced by Ofgem on 3 February will have a devastating effect on vulnerable households, which includes those with a person aged 60 years or over. In 2018, there were 130,000 vulnerable households in fuel poverty.
In 2018, we expanded our Warm Homes Programme to better support these households, for example through the Warm Homes Programme Health Conditions Pilot. According to the latest published figures, in 2020/2021 the pilot scheme on average accounted for about a quarter of the households who received free home energy efficiency measures through Nest. These measures saved an average of more than £300 on annual energy bills. Most of the referrals from the pilot were for vulnerable households, with just under 70% of households containing at least one person aged at least 60 years old.
Our Winter Fuel Payment Scheme provides a one off payment of £200 to low income working age households who are not supported by UK Government schemes. The UK Government Winter Fuel Scheme and automatic payments made through the Warm Home Discount are targeted at older households. Action is being taken through our Single Advice Fund to ensure people claim the payments to which they are entitled. For households in severe financial stress, support is available through our Discretionary Assistance Fund. An extra £14.7m has been allocated to expand the fund this year. Winter fuel assistance for off-grid homes and boiler repair grants are being made available from the Discretionary Assistance Fund, running from 1st October to 31st March 2022.
The failure of the UK Government to respond to the unprecedented increase in energy costs will push many more vulnerable households into severe fuel poverty. The Minister for Social Justice and I have convened a summit, which is scheduled to take place on 17 February. Working with our partners, we will consider how best the Welsh Government can further support the most vulnerable in our society through this crisis.