Jane Hutt, the Minister for Social Justice, published a written statement on 31 March 2022 setting out the Welsh Government's cost of living support, saying that since last November it had invested more than £380 million in a package for low income households1.
The centrepiece is a £150 cost-of-living payment for all households in properties in council tax bands A to D, and to all households receiving support from the Council Tax Reduction Scheme in all council tax bands. The scheme will be administered by local authorities and will run from April to September this year. A further £25 million will be available to local authorities as a discretionary fund, which they can target at households which may be struggling1.
The statement says the package also included funding for the Winter Fuel Support Scheme, which provided a £200 payment for eligible households towards essential bills over the winter, and that the funding will support a further fuel support scheme to be launched in autumn 2022. Hutt wrote that the government is looking at how the scheme can reach more households so more people receive the £200 payment1.
Other allocations listed include £2.84 million to relieve pressure on food banks and tackle food poverty, building on £2 million provided for the third year running to community food organisations, and a further £15 million for the Discretionary Assistance Fund, in addition to a £7 million per annum uplift for the next three years. Off-grid households unable to afford their next delivery of oil or LPG can receive up to £250 for a one-off oil payment or up to three payments of £70 for LPG, extended to the end of March 20231.
Targeted payments named in the statement include a one-off £100 payment to every child or young person eligible for PDG Access for the upcoming school year, a £500 payment to more than 57,000 unpaid carers, and a payment of £1,498 gross to approximately 53,000 registered care home workers, domiciliary care workers and Personal Assistants1.
"Since last November, we have invested more than £380 million in a package of support for low income households"
Hutt also set out the Welsh Government's view of UK government decisions, saying the Chancellor announced an increase of just £27 million in the Welsh Government's resource funding for 2022-23, that benefits were uplifted by just 3.1% against forecast inflation of 7.4%, and that this means a £290 real terms year-on-year fall in benefit income for the lowest income households. She said over 230,000 households lost the £20 per week Universal Credit uplift when it ended last October1.
| Measure | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living payment | £150 | Council tax bands A to D, and Council Tax Reduction Scheme recipients in all bands; April to September 2022 |
| Local authority discretionary fund | £25m | Targeted at households which may be struggling |
| Winter Fuel Support Scheme | £200 | Eligible households; further fuel support scheme to launch in autumn 2022 |
| Discretionary Assistance Fund | £15m | Plus £7m per annum uplift for three years |
| Off-grid oil or LPG support | Up to £250 oil; up to three payments of £70 for LPG | Extended to end of March 2023 |
| Food poverty support | £2.84m | On top of £2m for community food organisations |
Why it matters for households
The £150 payment is tied to council tax band rather than to energy use, so eligibility follows the property, not the bill. For a household in band A to D, the payment arrives through the local authority rather than through an energy supplier, and the discretionary fund gives councils scope to reach households outside those bands. The £200 fuel support payment and the planned autumn scheme sit alongside the UK-wide measures of the period, and the statement notes the Welsh Government is examining how to widen eligibility for the £200 payment1. For homes off the gas grid, the oil and LPG payments address a cost that arrives as a lump sum at each delivery rather than as a monthly bill. The statement does not give a per-household figure for total energy support, and no estimate of the number of households receiving the £150 payment has been reported1.
What happens next
The £150 scheme runs from April to September 2022 and is administered by local authorities. A further fuel support scheme is to be launched in autumn 2022. Hutt said she will host a food poverty roundtable in May and a second cost of living summit in the summer1.