Campaigners urge AMs to hit severe fuel poverty for 6

Fuel Poverty campaigners are calling on the Welsh Government to prioritise households in severe fuel poverty as they face rising prices this coming winter.  Currently, 61,000 homes in Wales are living in severe fuel poverty spending £1 in every £5 on keeping their home warm.

And with energy experts predicting that other suppliers will follow Scottish Power and raise prices by 10% or more ahead of this coming winter, the number of people across Wales living in fuel poverty and severe fuel poverty is only likely to rise.

Launching a new plan for tackling the issues at the Assembly today, Nuria Zolle, Chair of the Fuel Poverty Coalition Cymru called for a detailed action plan showing how the government might meet its targets.

Ms Zolle said: "The Fuel Poverty Coalition Cymru brings together a wide range of organisations who want to see an end to fuel poverty. We know that the government - and all parties in the Assembly - are committed to the eradication of fuel poverty, but as prices continue to rise far faster than wages, the best efforts of the government have not been able to keep pace.

"That's why we are calling on the Welsh Government to create a clear roadmap showing the steps we need to take in Wales and the milestones we will need to meet on the way in order to eradicate fuel poverty. We also want to see a range of measures to improve integration of fuel poverty spending with other programmes - both with the UK government and between departments of the Welsh Government - and a crisis fund to ensure the most vulnerable people in society can be protected"

The six point action plan calls on the Welsh Government to:

• Develop a roadmap with clear milestones that highlights how the 2010 target to eradicate fuel poverty among vulnerable households will be achieved and by when
• Develop the monitoring and evaluation plan agreed in the revised Fuel Poverty Strategy, including detail of households' actual running costs before and after every Welsh Government energy efficiency intervention
• Ensure energy efficiency schemes Nest and Arbed are effectively integrated with UK-wide support programmes, prioritising and targeting severe fuel poor households as a matter of social justice
• Develop an emergency heating crisis fund to ensure the wellbeing of vulnerable households during the winter months
• Set out a programme of work for health and social care services to support the eradication of fuel poverty
• Capitalise on the potential for energy efficiency programmes, including the Green Deal and the Energy Company Obligation, to create green job opportunities and apprenticeships in Wales

The launch in the Senedd will be addressed by Environment Minister John Griffiths AM, and hosted by Mark Isherwood AM, who chaired the cross party group on fuel poverty in the previous Assembly. Members of the Fuel Poverty Coalition steering group and other supporters will also be attending the event.

NOTES

The Fuel Poverty Coalition Cymru was established in 2009 and brings together more than 50 organisations.

The Coalition is led by Consumer Focus Wales and National Energy Action Cymru and a steering group composed of: Age Cymru, Care and Repair Cymru, Citizens Advice Cymru, Children in Wales, Community Housing Cymru, Eco Centre Wales, End Child Poverty Network, Friends of the Earth Cymru, Macmillan Cancer Support, Oxfam Cymru and Shelter Cymru.

For more details about the Fuel Poverty Coalition visit http://www.fuelpovertycharterwales.org.uk/
Or the Coalition's Facebook page
Or on twitter: @fuelpovertycc

For further information, please contact Friends of the Earth Cymru on
029 2022 9577