Leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the Senedd, and Clwyd West MS, Darren Millar, has criticised the Welsh Government for failing to condemn the decision of the UK Government to scrap the winter fuel payments for pensioners and urged them to introduce a Welsh Winter Fuel Allowance.
Questioning the First Minister in the Senedd Chamber this week, Darren said because of the scrapping of the winter fuel allowance, thousands of pensioners are being forced to choose between eating and heating.
He referred to the fact that the Scottish Government have condemned the decision “to axe this lifeline for our pensioners”, and asked what action the Welsh Government has taken to support pensioners.
He said:
“The truth is that Labour in Wales and in Westminster have been an absolute disaster for our older people in Wales. You have opposed a Bill to protect the rights of older people in Wales; you've broken promises to Women Against State Pension Inequality women; and within just days of taking office in July of last year, the Labour Chancellor cruelly scrapped winter fuel payments for 0.5 million Welsh pensioners.
“First Minister, these are not just people on a spreadsheet, these are our parents and our grandparents, yet this winter, thousands are being forced to choose between eating or heating. You just mentioned the 46 per cent energy increases, which are now baked into our energy supply system. And due to that decision by the Chancellor, according to your own Labour figures, thousands of people are going to die.
“A free bus pass isn't going to pay the energy bills of hundreds of thousands of older people across Wales. You try to pass the buck always to the UK Government. The reality is that your Scottish Labour counterparts have had the bottle to stand up to the UK Labour Government. They condemned the decision to axe this lifeline for our pensioners, but what has the Welsh Government done? Well, you lost your bottle. You've done absolutely nothing. You've not condemned the decision of the UK Government at all.
“Now, let me give you an idea about something that you could do to sort this situation out, to redeem your position, something that we Welsh Conservatives have been calling for for some time. We want to see you establish a Welsh winter fuel allowance. It'd cost around £100 million per year, and you have this money available to you and could make it available by simply reversing your decision to continue to increase the Welsh Government's own central administration costs, which by the end of the next financial year will be £117 million higher than they were two years ago - £117 million that is being spent on bureaucrats.
“I know where pensioners would rather see that money invested; they would rather see it invested in helping them with their energy bills. So, can I ask you, First Minister, will you finally stand up for Wales and will you accept our proposal to invest in a Welsh winter fuel allowance to protect our vulnerable pensioners?”
In her response, the First Minister failed to commit to introducing a Welsh Winter Fuel Allowance, stating “I think it's really important that we focus on the things where we have responsibility, and that's what we will continue to do”.
After the exchange, Darren said: "Fuel poverty is a responsibility of the Welsh Government so there can be no excuses for not stepping in to help vulnerable pensioners."
