Written question WQ86073

Since last October, we have provided more than £380m for schemes to help lower income households deal with the cost-of-living crisis.

Welsh Government has invested in a series of measures to support households most in need of additional assistance. More than 900,000 households have benefitted from the £150 cost of living payment, and 166,000 households have benefitted from the £200 payment available through the Welsh Government’s Energy Support Scheme. The £200 payment will be made available to an additional 200,000 eligible households this year.

£90m has been made available to run another Welsh Government Fuel Support Scheme in 2022-23 which will support people on low incomes with a non-repayable £200 payment towards their energy bills. The scheme launched on 26 September and has been extended to provide more households with vital support.

On 10 June, we announced nearly £4 million of funding which will enable the Fuel Bank Foundation to introduce a national fuel voucher and Heat Fund scheme in Wales for households that have to prepay for their fuel.

The scheme will commence in the Autumn and will provide direct financial support to eligible households on prepayment meters and those not connected to the mains gas network who are struggling to prepay for their fuel and are at risk of disconnection.

Our Discretionary Assistance Fund (DAF) provides support to individuals who are unable to afford their next delivery of oil or LPG due to extreme financial hardship. Eligibility for support under the DAF is not means tested and is dependent on individual circumstances.

Following the success of the first two Claim What’s Yours campaigns which helped people claim more than £2.7m in extra income, we will run a third Claim What’s Yours campaign to help people access all the benefits and support they are entitled to.

We are also encouraging people to contact Advicelink Cymru to check they are receiving all the financial support they are entitled to. The service, which is run by Citizens Advice Cymru, can also signpost other services which may be of use.

As part of our plan to tackle fuel poverty published in March 2021, we will continue to invest in our Warm Homes Programme. Improving the energy efficiency of lower income homes is the most effective way we can support householders to reduce their energy bills.

The Welsh Government Warm Homes Nest scheme offers a range of free, impartial advice to all homes in Wales and a package of free home energy efficiency improvements following recommendations of a whole house assessment where the eligibility criteria is met.