Welcome for the Welsh Government’s response to Welsh Parliament’s report on Fuel Poverty

The Bevan Foundation welcomes the Welsh Government’s response to the Welsh Parliament’s Climate Change, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee’s recommendations on fuel poverty.

The Bevan Foundation welcomes the Welsh Government’s decision to accept, either in full or in principle, all of the Climate Change, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee’s recommendations on fuel poverty. The Bevan Foundation has previously supported the Committee’s report and it’s recommendations which extensively quotes the Bevan Foundation’s oral evidence given on 8th January, and its written evidence.

Amongst the recommendations that have been accepted by the Welsh Government are:

• The Welsh Government should adopt a more appropriate definition of fuel poverty: one that more accurately reflects the lived experience of fuel poor households in Wales. As its starting point, it should consider the ‘residual income’ approach, learning lessons from England and Scotland
• The Welsh Government’s new fuel poverty strategy must comprehensively address the three determinants of fuel poverty – energy prices, household incomes and energy efficiency
• The Welsh Government’s new fuel poverty targets must be challenging but realistic. The overall targets must be accompanied by interim targets and clear milestones against which progress can be measured
• The Welsh Government must work with Nest and Arbed am Byth to develop a robust monitoring and evaluation framework, which includes measuring the impact of the schemes on fuel poverty.