, Equality and Social Justice Committee
Fuel poverty and the Warm Homes programme: Evidence session 1
Okay. Thank you. I just want to come back to what is mainly an urban situation, which is the—. You say, Victoria, in your paper that there's little correlation between a home's energy performance rating and the market rent, according to the research you did…
, Equality and Social Justice Committee
Fuel poverty and the Warm Homes programme: Evidence session 1
Tom, did you—?
, Equality and Social Justice Committee
Fuel poverty and the Warm Homes programme: Evidence session 1
I think it makes sense if we now come to Tom Giffard who had some questions about rural fuel poverty, and then I'll come back to urban situations. Tom.
, Equality and Social Justice Committee
Fuel poverty and the Warm Homes programme: Evidence session 1
Thank you, Jonathan. You've given us some excellent examples in your written evidence and we'll obviously follow this up. I'd like to move on now to discuss whether an area-based approach is what we need in future. Jane Dodds.
, Equality and Social Justice Committee
Fuel poverty and the Warm Homes programme: Evidence session 1
Okay. Victoria, if you want to come in briefly, and then I think that we need to move on.
, Equality and Social Justice Committee
Fuel poverty and the Warm Homes programme: Evidence session 1
Sioned Williams.
, Equality and Social Justice Committee
Fuel poverty and the Warm Homes programme: Evidence session 1
Okay, well, we'll obviously try and explore those further. Sarah Murphy, would you like to ask your questions, please?
, Equality and Social Justice Committee
Fuel poverty and the Warm Homes programme: Evidence session 1
Okay. Thank you very much. While I ask Victoria to comment on the success of both schemes, I wondered if the sound recordist could have a discussion with Jonathan about the sound. They're very lovely sounds, but they're rather dominant, and I'm not quite sure…
, Equality and Social Justice Committee
Fuel poverty and the Warm Homes programme: Evidence session 1
Okay. But, nevertheless, the Nest scheme doesn't seem to have been a coherent offer and nor was it focused on the needs of individuals who, in most cases, are quite vulnerable.
, Equality and Social Justice Committee
Fuel poverty and the Warm Homes programme: Evidence session 1
However, from your paper we can see that Arbed was really not fit for purpose. I mean, there were some pretty massive issues both in the way in which Arbed operated—not very customer-focused—and also there were differences in the costing arrangements between…
, Equality and Social Justice Committee
Fuel poverty and the Warm Homes programme: Evidence session 1
Okay. Jonathan, you mentioned that you'd been involved in just over 200 successful applications, and then in your paper you talk about how in the last six months you've supported 65 households. That, to me, seems tiny. I mean, I appreciate that you're not the…
, Equality and Social Justice Committee
Fuel poverty and the Warm Homes programme: Evidence session 1
Okay. I think you're right to point out that there are some quite significant issues that are now coming back to bite us in the context of the massive rises in energy prices. Could you outline the concerns you may have about the end of Arbed last November?…
, Equality and Social Justice Committee
Fuel poverty and the Warm Homes programme: Evidence session 1
No, I'm not sure who it is, but just to say to the sound recordists, I'm getting lots of sea shore and then bird sounds, and I don't know where that's coming from, because everybody else is muted, but perhaps the sound recordists can sort that out. Victoria…
, Equality and Social Justice Committee
Fuel poverty and the Warm Homes programme: Evidence session 1
Thank you very much. Before I go to Victoria, have you got lots of lovely birdsong outside your window, Jonathan?
, Equality and Social Justice Committee
Fuel poverty and the Warm Homes programme: Evidence session 1
No, you're fine, you don't need to—
, Equality and Social Justice Committee
Fuel poverty and the Warm Homes programme: Evidence session 1
So, we're very pleased today to welcome our first two witnesses to our fuel poverty inquiry. Welcome to Jonathan Cosson from Warm Wales and Dr Victoria Winckler from the Bevan Foundation. Thank you very much indeed, both, for making the time to come and talk…
, Equality and Social Justice Committee
Introductions, apologies, substitutions and declarations of interest
Prynhawn da, pawb. I'd like to welcome you all, Members and members of the public, to the meeting of the Equality and Social Justice Committee. We've had apologies from Altaf Hussain, and I'd like to welcome Tom Giffard to the meeting today, who's…
, Plenary
Debate: Draft Budget 2022-23
I understand your argument that Natural Resources Wales needs more money to chase all the people who are polluting our rivers, but I wonder whether you could indicate where you think the money might need to come from to actually do that? For example, would…
, Plenary
Debate: Draft Budget 2022-23
I will sum up by saying our additional concern is on the—. There's no increase at the moment in the well-being of future generations commissioner's budget. She is the lowest-funded commissioner of all the four commissioners. How does the Welsh Government…
, Plenary
Debate: Draft Budget 2022-23
Diolch, Llywydd. I appreciate the huge difficulties that the Welsh Government is under trying to engineer a budget that doesn't enable the population to fall into even more poverty and inequality at this difficult time, with the cost-of-living crisis that has…
, Equality and Social Justice Committee
Motion under Standing Order 17.42(vi) and (ix) to exclude the public from the remainder of the meeting
We'll move to private session, unless anybody objects to excluding the public from the rest of the meeting. Thank you.
, Equality and Social Justice Committee
Papers to note
There are three papers to note. Is there anything that any Member wants to raise in relation to any of them, or can we just agree to note them? Okay. Thank you very much.
, Equality and Social Justice Committee
Annual scrutiny of the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales
Thank you. On that positive note, unless you've got anything further either you or Heledd wanted to add—. We've covered a great deal of ground linked to your annual report and the other important reports that you've published in the last year. So, thank you…
, Equality and Social Justice Committee
Annual scrutiny of the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales
Excellent. I'll just pitch in as well on the back of that to say that surely the main problem in what you want to do in testing the UBI is that we don't control the tax and benefit system, and the UK Government, as yet, doesn't indicate it wants to do this…
, Equality and Social Justice Committee
Annual scrutiny of the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales
Thanks. Ken Skates.
