The Welsh Government will make another Winter Fuel Support Scheme payment later this year, widened to reach more low-income households including pensioners eligible for Pension Credit, according to National Energy Action. The charity set out the plan on 13 April 2022, the same day new official Welsh Government fuel poverty estimates were published.
Those estimates say up to 45% of households in Wales are now likely to be struggling to keep warm and safe at home, trapped in fuel poverty1. NEA reports that 115,000 households, 8% of the total, are now living in severe fuel poverty, having to spend more than 20% of their income just to keep warm1. Under the Welsh Government's Tackling Fuel Poverty Plan 2021 to 2035, a household needing to pay more than 10% of its full household income to maintain a satisfactory heating regime is measured as being in fuel poverty, and more than 20% as being in severe fuel poverty1.
The charity's Head of Wales, Ben Saltmarsh, said the figures were worse than feared and that further targeted support from the Welsh and UK governments would be needed to address the fuel poverty crisis1. On the Winter Fuel Support Scheme, he said:
"Action will include another welcome 'Winter Fuel Support Scheme' payment later this year, widened to reach more low-income households in need, including pensioners eligible for Pension Credit."
He added that it was key the payment reached as many eligible households as possible ahead of October, to help prevent people going without heat and power in the coldest months1. The amount of the payment, the eligibility rules and the date it will be made have not been reported.
For comparison, NEA notes that in 2018 an estimated 155,000 households, 12%, were in fuel poverty in Wales, 32,000 of them in severe fuel poverty, or 2% of all households1.
| Measure | 2018 estimate | April 2022 estimate |
|---|---|---|
| Households in fuel poverty | 155,000 (12%) | Up to 45% |
| Households in severe fuel poverty | 32,000 (2%) | 115,000 (8%) |
Why it matters for households
The Winter Fuel Support Scheme is a Welsh Government payment, so it sits alongside rather than replaces the UK-wide Winter Fuel Payment, which is paid to pensioners. NEA has separately called on the UK Government to expand the Winter Fuel Payment beyond pensioners, to provide a bigger Warm Home Discount, to develop a social tariff and to start a payment matching scheme for utility debts1. None of those UK measures is reported as agreed.
For a household on a low income, a one-off payment reduces the bill in the month it arrives but does not change the underlying running cost of the home. The estimates suggest the pressure is concentrated among households on the lowest incomes in the least efficient homes: NEA says those people can do very little, if anything at all, to improve their own situation1. Energy independence for a household rests on what it pays per unit, how much heat the building loses and what income it has to cover both; a grant payment touches only the last of those, and only for the period it covers.
The wider context is the Welsh Government's Warm Homes Programme, described by NEA as its key delivery mechanism for tackling fuel poverty, and the Arbed scheme that preceded it. NEA says it has been widely acknowledged, including by the Welsh Government, that the investment and scale of the Warm Homes Programme has not been sufficient to meet need or targets1. The fuel poverty rate in Wales is measured against the 10% definition, which differs from the approach used in England and Scotland.
What happens next
NEA says the payment should be made ahead of October 20221. The Welsh Government has not been reported as confirming a payment date, an amount or the full eligibility criteria. NEA also wants the Welsh Government's Cold Weather Resilience Plan to coordinate preparation for winter across government, health, housing and third sectors, a ramped-up benefits take-up campaign, and a Warm Homes Programme equipped to lift households out of fuel poverty1. Households seeking help with energy bills in Wales can check who qualifies for the Winter Fuel Payment for the separate UK-wide payment.