North Wales Assembly Member and Chair of the Cross Party Group on Fuel Poverty, Mark Isherwood, has this afternoon made calls for a refreshed Welsh Government Strategy to tackle fuel poverty, which Age Cymru have stated is “a significant cause of excess winter deaths” in Wales.
Speaking in the Welsh Conservative Debate on Winter Preparedness, he said:
“Age Cymru’s Public Policy Statement on Fuel Poverty last September stated: “Fuel poverty is a significant problem for many older people in Wales, the group most likely to suffer from this” and “a significant cause of excess winter deaths”, where 90% of 16,000 excess winter deaths in Wales over the past decade involved people aged 65 or over, with the highest rate amongst those over 85, who constituted nearly 50 per cent of the total.
“In 2012, almost 30% of Welsh households were estimated to be in fuel poverty, spending 10% or more on household income on fuel to maintain heat adequate enough to safeguard comfort and health.
“Increased household incomes and decreased fuel prices saw this fall to 23% in 2016, but that still represents 291,000 households, and 43,000 in severe fuel poverty.
“Welsh Government targets to eradicate fuel poverty amongst all vulnerable households by 2010 and social housing by 2012 were missed, there is no realistic prospect of achieving the 2018 target of eradicating fuel poverty in Wales – and, as Age Cymru state, “many of the mechanisms and measures contained within the 2010 Fuel Poverty Strategy are out of date or no longer applicable” adding “the time is right for the Welsh Government to refresh its Fuel Poverty Strategy, with a clear programme and time scales, credible evidence base, and new fuel poverty target rooted in delivery rather than being a hostage to energy price movements”.
Mr Isherwood added: “Although Fuel Poverty is first and foremost a social justice issue, this First Minister has again given responsibility for reducing it to the Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs.
“It is therefore essential that the Welsh Government works with Fuel Poverty Coalition Members to instead place Fuel Poverty at the heart of action to tackle poverty, with strong emphasis on all sectors taking responsibility together.
“Local Affordable Warmth Schemes spearheaded by the Flintshire Affordable Warmth Partnership should be expanded, working with Local Authorities, third sector organisations and existing public and private sector energy efficiency schemes to address the specific fuel poverty and health issues prevalent in Wales.
“We must put early intervention and prevention into practice, giving real meaning to person-centred and citizen directed approaches” and “embrace preventative services designed to operate throughout the year to reduce Winter Pressures and enable health professionals to concentrate on meeting clinical needs – such as the planned British Red Cross support service planned for Glan Clwyd Hospital, Bodelwyddan, their community navigators pilot at Clarence House surgery in Rhyl and their Welfare Centre in Wrexham”.
Mr Isherwood also spoke of the need to support independent advice services for people in fuel poverty.