Action is needed on the cost-of-living crisis

Poverty Some money
ResourcesViewsOctober 17th, 2022

Sioned Williams MS, Plaid Cymru spokesperson on Social Justice and Equalities.

“The cost of living crisis is going to do exactly what the Covid crisis did.”

These were the stark words of Director of Public Health at Cwm Taf Morgannwg Health Board Dr Kelechi Nnoaham who recently warned that communities need reaching out to in ways that are “genuine and not tokenistic”, or “we’re going to create a society that is even more divided between the rich and the poor”.

Not only will the impact of this crisis again be deeper on the most deprived areas of Wales – which of course saw double the death rates of those with less social deprivation – but it is that same inequality and those same vulnerabilities that the cost of living crisis is exacerbating.

This is why the cost of living crisis has to be seen in the same terms as the Covid Crisis. That is why those most vulnerable to potential harm should also be shielded in this instance.

The lessons of dealing with the Covid crisis were hard learnt. But the phrase I remember being used by those that understood the need for radical and bold action to save lives, was ‘go hard, go early.’  Plaid Cymru’s call to introduce temporary emergency measures in Wales such as rent freezes and an eviction ban, following the lead taken by the Scottish Government, is about taking such early and definitive action. It is also about recognising that the cost of everyday living is rooted in housing costs, and in turn rising housing costs are exacerbating the cost of living crisis.

People who rent their homes are more likely to live in poverty or be on low incomes. They are less likely to have savings or assets which they can use to cushion economic shocks or short term financial difficulties. And these are the groups of people who will be most anxious about being able to afford their rent as the cost of everyday essentials sky-rockets, and are already cutting back on food and heat, putting their health at risk. When you add to that the fact that 45% of households in Wales are now trapped in fuel poverty – and that rises to 98% of low- income households – then the need to act fast is clear.

Those who oppose the idea of rent freezes and eviction bans point to the unintended consequences which would result from disincentivising landlords to remain in the rental sector. But it is hard to see what emergency short term measures could better serve to protect tenants over this long economic winter.

The Welsh Government has offered different programmes of economic support where possible. But the truth is that the payments on offer are completely inadequate and won’t help everybody in need. And, as with Covid, the worst affected will be those who already suffer socio-economic disadvantage and groups of people who already face barriers as regards housing, employment opportunities, income gaps and health inequalities. The Royal College of Physicians agree. They point to the fact that poverty causes illness and poor health – and that the cost of the living crisis is likely to have a significant impact on the NHS.

The Welsh Government does not have the power to stop bills soaring and can’t ensure the Westminster Government increases benefits. But it can take action to give people who are most at risk of debt and
homelessness the security of knowing that they can stay in their homes. Such action would help to ensure that budgets already stretched to breaking point don’t snap due to rent increases, as the cold winds of this terrible economic storm chill those least able to shelter from it to the bone.

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