With the Office for Budget Responsibility stating that 2022-2023
will see the biggest fall in living standards in the UK since
records began and as the National Insurance rise and the energy
price cap lift push people further into hardship, Minister for
Social Justice, and Minister for Finance and Local Government, , have set out the package of
support that the Welsh Government have developed to help the most
vulnerable in society and called for more action from the UK
Government.
Minister for Social Justice, said:
Despite widespread calls on the UK Government to deliver more
support through the spring statement to help people who are
struggling to meet the rising cost of household bills, the
Chancellor announced an increase of just £27 million in the Welsh
Government’s resource funding for 2022-23.
The cost-of-living crisis is affecting every household across
Wales, disgracefully, we have people that are being forced to
make the unfortunate decision of whether to heat or to eat. This
is completely unacceptable for a modern day society. If the UK
Government were serious about tackling the problem we would see
real solutions and not soundbites about levelling up, when it’s
clear for all to see, they’re levelling the country down.
Despite the lack of support and leadership from the UK
Government, in Wales we are doing all we can, with the powers we
have, to deliver for the most vulnerable. Over the past few
months, we have been working with partner organisations, the
third sector and community leaders to develop a series of
targeted packages to help the most vulnerable in our society deal
with this cost-of-living crisis.
The Minister for Finance and Local Government outlined the £380 million
package of support that the Welsh Government has developed,
including the Winter Fuel Support Scheme and the Cost-of-Living
payment.
The Minister said:
Since last November, we have invested more than £380 million in a
package of support for low income households to meet the
immediate and severe pressures on living costs. This included
funding for the Winter Fuel Support Scheme which provided a £200
payment for eligible households to help meet the cost of
essential bills over the winter. We will also provide additional
support for fuel costs for the coming winter and are considering
how we can widen the scheme to ensure more people receive the
£200 payment.
The package of support will also fund a £150 cost-of-living
payment for households in Council tax bands A-D and to all
households who receive support from the Council Tax Reduction
Scheme.
A further £25m is available to local authorities in the form of a
discretionary fund to provide additional and targeted support for
households struggling with the massive surge in the costs of
living. A further £15m has been made available for the
Discretionary Assistance Fund to provide financial support for
those experiencing extreme financial pressures, extending the
additional support until the end of March 2023. In addition to
this, we will continue to put pressure on the UK Government to
use the significant levers they have to support the most
vulnerable through the difficult times ahead.
Finally the Minister for Social Justice, said:
As a government we are determined to do all we can to support
those who find themselves vulnerable at this time and take the
steps needed to build resilience in our communities. I‘m
delighted to be hosting a second cost-of-living summit in the
summer when we will look again at more we can do, working with
partners, to address the inequalities that the current crisis has
brought so starkly into focus.
Despite the complete lack of leadership and real action from the
UK Government, we in the Welsh Government will continue to work
in partnership with our communities to deliver for the most
vulnerable in our society.
