Plaid Cymru’s Treasury spokesperson Ben Lake MPhas today (Thursday 3 February) described the Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s measures as a “sticking plaster on the growing societal wound that is fuel poverty”.
He criticised the measures for “pushing the price rise on low-income households down the road” and urged the Government to “re-evaluate its decisions” saying that tax hikes and welfare cuts are “simply not what households or businesses need right now”.
Households will face a record energy bill increase of 54% from April after Ofgem lifted the cap on default tariffs to £1,971.
Households will receive a one-off £200 discount from their energy bills this year, and households in England, which are in council tax bands A-D, will also receive a £150 rebate. The Welsh Government will receive £175 million in Barnett consequentials from the announcement.
Ben Lake MP highlighted that 275,000 homes in Wales, nearly a fifth of all households, were not connected to the gas grid in 2020. In rural areas like Ceredigion, that figure rises to over 80 per cent. The Ceredigion MP secured confirmation that the rebate would apply to electricity bills.
Ben Lake MP said:
“This is long overdue support but is only a sticking plaster on the growing societal wound that is fuel poverty. The problems facing Welsh households have been long-standing and the £200 pound relief-now-pay later rebate merely pushes the price rise on low-income households down the road.
“The Government needs to revaluate its decisions - tax hikes and welfare cuts are simply not what households or businesses need right now. I urge the Chancellor to increase Universal Credit now and to match Plaid Cymru’s funding calls to end fuel poverty this decade in Wales.
“It is now for the Welsh Government to get funding out of the door and to households, including those unconnected to the main power grids and those on pre-payment meters. But we need to do more and implement improved household energy efficiency measures to reduce bills, benefit our climate and give us long-term energy security.”
Speaking in the House of Commons today, Ben Lake MP said:
“The Chancellor will be aware that nearly 20 per cent of households in Wales are not connected to the mains gas grid. In rural areas like Ceredigion, that figure rises to over 80 per cent.
“Research by the ONS shows that Ceredigion suffered the highest increase in fuel bills of any area in Britain in the past year, increasing by £863 on average.
“Can I ask the Chancellor to confirm whether the rebate announced today will also apply to households that are not connected to the mains power grids?”
The Chancellor confirmed in response to Ben Lake that the rebate “will be delivered through electricity bills to solve that exact problem, which is much more universal”.
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