A view from Mark Isherwood – Welsh Conservative North Wales Member of the Senedd
Wrexham.com has invited the four North Wales Members of the Senedd to write a monthly column with updates on their work. You can find their updates – along with contributions from the Wrexham and Clwyd South MPs and MSs – here.
In his monthly column for Wrexham.com, Welsh Conservative MS Mark Isherwood writes:
We should all be able to stay warm at home, but sadly each winter many people cannot afford to do so.
High energy costs, low incomes and energy-inefficient homes are restricting people’s options, leaving them in impossible situations like having to choose to heat their home, feed their children or pay their rent.
As Chair of the Senedd’s Cross Party Group on Fuel Poverty and Energy Efficiency, I have long been calling on the Welsh Government to make fuel poverty a priority and to ensure that fuel poor households receive the financial support they need.
Earlier this month in the Senedd, I backed a motion calling for the Welsh Government to implement the new Warm Homes Programme with urgency to support low-income households in making their homes more energy efficient this winter.
The Welsh Conservatives also put forward amendments, including adding specific reference to older people and people living with a terminal illness.
Speaking in the debate, I highlighted Care and Repair’s Report “Older People in Wales: Poverty in Winter” which found that their average client will be spending on average 19% of their income on utilities this winter, including 15% on gas and electricity, putting these older people in Fuel Poverty. Fuel poverty relates to households that cannot meet their energy needs at a reasonable cost.
Further, I said they highlight the concern that people in North Wales and Merseyside pay an extra £82 in standing charges every year compared to London.
Meanwhile, Marie Curie are calling for the Welsh Government to add people with 12 months or less to live to the health conditions eligibility criteria in its Warm Homes Programme.
It is concerning that the Welsh Government has not implemented the new Warm Homes Programme prior to the winter of 2023 despite assurances that it would.
Speaking in the debate, I said: “According to the Welsh Government, the Warm Homes programme is its primary mechanism to tackle fuel poverty.
“The new scheme will be demand led and assist those who are least able to pay.
“Despite assurances, the Welsh Government did not implement the programme prior to the winter of 2023.
“In fact, although the Welsh Government Fuel Poverty Strategy stated that they would ‘consult on revised arrangements for delivering measures for tackling fuel poverty beyond March 2023’ between June and December 2021, the Consultation was not launched until December 2021.
“The strategy also states that the Welsh Government would publish its response and implement their findings to start in April 2023 – but they did not even respond until June 2023.
“I have been repeatedly told by various Ministers in this Chamber that the New Warm Homes Programme would be implemented before this Winter – but the First Minister finally admitted last week that they were now looking to the end of the Financial year, which is next April 5th, after winter is over.”
As temperatures plummet, people, particularly older people and those on low incomes, should not have to worry about putting their heating on, and it is appalling that this vital programme of support has been delayed.
Fuel poverty can affect not only household finances, but also lead to physical ill-health and stress, so it is vital that all steps should be taken to tackle its causes and improve the wellbeing – physical, mental, and financial – of people in Wales.
I encourage anyone struggling to meet their heating costs this winter to contact NEA Cymru’s Warm and Safe Homes advice helpline on 0800 304 7159.
Alternatively information can be found on their website NEA Cymru.
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