Half of all households in Wales could now be in fuel poverty, minister warns

Nearly half of all households in Wales could now be in fuel poverty, according to the social justice minister.

Estimates of fuel poverty, published on Wednesday by the Welsh Government, suggest up to 45% (614,000) of all households in Wales could be in fuel poverty following the price cap increase in April 2022.

Minister for Social Justice, Jane Hutt, said: "Sadly, we know the worst is yet to come. We are in the midst of an unprecedented cost-of-living crisis, which is being driven by runaway energy prices. The war in Ukraine has deepened this crisis.

"The introduction of the new energy price cap at the start of the month risks plunging tens of thousands more people into energy insecurity and fuel poverty.

"On top of soaring energy prices, households must also pay increased standing charges on their domestic energy bills and people in Wales are among the hardest hit."

She also believes the action offered to date – a £200 rebate on electricity bills, which must be repaid by every bill payer over five years – is "too little".

She continued: "The Spring Statement was an opportunity for the UK Government to protect the most vulnerable in our society, instead it was an ideological, regressive statement from the Chancellor, which lacked practical measures to help those who need help the most – there is nothing for those who cannot work and those on lower incomes."

In his spring statement, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a number of financial measures aimed at tackling the cost-of-living crisis.

These include cutting fuel duty by 5p, an increase in Universal Credit payments and VAT scrapped on energy efficiency measures such as solar panels, heat pumps and insulation installed for five years.