Fresh calls to establish a Welsh Winter Fuel Allowance fund to support pensioners have been made by a Member of the Senedd.
Natasha Asghar MS warned that many older residents – including nearly 100,000 in her region of South Wales East – have been punished by the UK Government’s decision to withdraw the vital payment.
Some pensioners, Natasha told the Senedd this week, are facing the unimaginable choice of heating or eating after Labour politicians in Westminster snatched away support payments.
In the Welsh Parliament this week, Natasha challenged the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice over fuel poverty and implored her to roll-out a Wales-specific winter fuel allowance fund.
Natasha told the chamber:
“As of 2018, there were 26,000 households living in fuel poverty in my region of South East Wales alone.
“The Welsh Government's Warm Homes scheme was launched to tackle this problem, although we know that progress has been painfully slow, with warnings that it will take more than 100 years to retrofit all homes at risk of fuel poverty.
“Clearly, there is a big chunk of work that needs to be done here if the Government is going to hit its target and have no more than 5 per cent of households in Wales living in fuel poverty by 2035.
“We need to be lifting more people out of fuel poverty, Cabinet Secretary, yet it would appear that not everyone sees it like this, with the Labour Chancellor cruelly snatching winter fuel payments away from our pensioners.
“By your own admission, Cabinet Secretary, this callous and unforgivable act risks pushing some pensioners into fuel poverty.
“My Welsh Conservative colleagues and I firmly believe that this Government should create a Welsh winter fuel payment fund to support our pensioners who have been punished by the Labour Government in Westminster.
“So, will you commit to doing just that, Cabinet Secretary? And if not, what do you say to those pensioners who are facing the tough decision between heating and eating?”
Jane Hutt MS, the Welsh Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice dodged the question about establishing a Welsh Winter Fuel Allowance Fund.
Instead, she replied:
“As I've said more than once this afternoon, an important way to tackle fuel poverty is to get more money into people's pockets.
“Clearly, that's what we need to do in terms of our powers and our responsibilities, and that strong benefit take-up campaign, which included the pension credit campaign on the take-up of pension credit, which would lead to eligibility for the winter fuel payment.
“And I do draw attention to our latest media burst for our 'Claim what's yours' national benefits take-up campaign. It started in January and will run through to the end of March, and this is a call to action to signpost people to ensure that they can claim what's theirs.
“You did mention the Warm Homes programme as well, and it is important that we maximise the reach of Warm Homes Nest with the Welsh Local Government Association, the local authorities, and ensure that we leverage funding from Westminster through schemes such as the energy companies’ obligation scheme.”
Commenting after the exchange, Natasha Asghar MS said:
“Pensioners right across Wales are understandably fearful of the impact Labour’s decision to withdraw Winter Fuel Payments will have on them.
“Instead of doing as their paymasters tell them, it’s about time Labour ministers in Cardiff stand up for the people of Wales."
