Wales’ Warm Homes programme ‘barely touching the sides’ in reducing fuel poverty

Progress on reaching a target of no more than 5% of households in Wales living in fuel poverty by 2035 has been far too slow, a committee warned.

Jenny Rathbone, who chairs the Senedd’s equality committee, pointed to evidence that 45% of households were living in fuel poverty at the height of the cost-of-living crisis in 2022.

Ms Rathbone said the new Warm Homes programme, the Welsh Government’s flagship policy aimed at reducing fuel poverty, was “barely touching the sides”.

The Labour Senedd member warned a “huge leap” will be required to hit the 5% target.

Scrutinising ministers as part of an inquiry, she said: “It’s going to be 2160, 125 years hence, before we actually get on top of this problem, do you agree that that is far too slow?”

‘Unacceptable’

Jayne Bryant, who was appointed housing secretary in July, accepted that ministers have a “huge” job ahead, adding: “We are doing what we can with the resources that we have.”

Giving evidence to the committee, she explained that the new Warm Homes programme has moved away from being a broken boiler scheme to more long-term energy efficiency.

The Conservatives’ Altaf Hussain also raised the Bevan Foundation’s warning that it will take more than a century at the current rate to retrofit all homes at risk of fuel poverty.

And, warning people are living without heating and hot water, Welsh Lib Dem leader Jane Dodds raised concerns about the “unacceptable” pace of change.

She said: “There’s a feeling of ‘oh well, you just have to wait’, is there any ambition to move things forward more quickly?”

‘Crisis route’

Ms Bryant told Senedd members: “I would like to see as much pace in this as I’m sure everybody on this committee would as well, but we’re working within our envelope here.”

Pressed about hitting 2035 targets in the Welsh Government’s plan to tackle fuel poverty, she said: “We will be aiming for that, I can assure you we will do everything we can.”

Dr Hussain questioned whether the Welsh Government’s revamped Warm Homes scheme has struck the right balance between decarbonisation and fuel poverty.

And Labour’s Julie Morgan raised witnesses’ concerns about an over-emphasis on air-source heat pumps rather than what’s right for the household.

Ms Bryant told the committee she intends to extend a “crisis route”, which was introduced for boiler repairs and replacements at the end of last year, beyond March 2025.

‘Hopelessly out of date’

Ms Rathbone raised concerns about ministers failing to keep a commitment to publish interim targets on tackling fuel poverty in 2023.

Jane Hutt, Wales’ social justice secretary, said meaningful interim targets – based on EPC ratings and revised fuel poverty estimates from October – would be published this summer.

Ms Rathbone warned the fuel poverty estimates will be based on “hopelessly out-of-date” assessments from the 2017/18 Welsh Housing Conditions Survey.

She told the meeting: “I think we’re struggling to understand how the interim targets will be fit for purpose if we’re using such old data.”

Sioned Williams raised comments from Ms Hutt who previously warned Welsh pensioners could be pushed into fuel poverty by the UK Government cuts to winter fuel payments.

‘Extreme anxiety’

The Plaid Cymru politician backed calls from Rhian Bowen-Davies, Wales’ older people’s commissioner, for a specific winter fuel fund similar to Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Ms Dodds also raised evidence from the older people’s commissioner, who warned of “extreme anxiety, anger and distress” over fuel poverty.

The Mid and West Wales Senedd member said: “This is our second inquiry into this area and it feels to me that nothing has moved on, I’m afraid.”

Ms Hutt pointed to a written ministerial statement on tackling fuel poverty – which was published on January 27, the same day as the committee meeting was held.

She said powers over winter fuel payment are not devolved, unlike in Northern Ireland and as is planned in Scotland, so Welsh ministers could not legislate for an equivalent scheme.

By Chris Haines, ICNN Senedd reporter