North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood, who Chairs the Cross Party Group on Fuel Poverty and Energy Efficiency in the Assembly, has reiterated calls for a revised fuel poverty strategy in Wales.
In the Assembly Chamber yesterday, Mr Isherwood expressed concern that the Welsh Government’s fuel poverty target will not be met and called on the Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Planning and Rural Affairs, Lesley Griffiths AM, to introduce a revised Fuel Poverty Strategy.
He said:
“Reducing emissions from our housing stock is key to meeting our broader energy and climate change targets. Given that 90 per cent of today's homes will still be in use in 2050, will you, as Cabinet Secretary, commit to working with the Cross Party Group on Fuel Poverty and Energy Efficiency to consider introducing a revised Fuel Poverty Strategy and action plan to outline new targets to improve homes to a minimum energy efficiency standard of EPC C, and, whilst acknowledging the benefits that some schemes, such as Arbed, have brought forward, recognizing that there's much work to do, given that the 2018 targets originally set are not now going to be met?”
The Cabinet Secretary replied:
“I think you make a very important point, and we had a Decarbonisation Ministerial Task and Finish Group on Monday, where we were talking about this, because, obviously, we've been concentrating on energy efficiency as our way of tackling fuel poverty, but we also need to look at retrofitting in respect of decarbonisation and how we are going to obviously hit those targets as well. We will be having new fuel poverty data at the end of 2018 and that will absolutely inform the discussions that we have, particularly with our stakeholders. I'd be very happy to come along to a Cross Party Group, if you wish me to do so.”
Mr Isherwood added: “It is clear that the Welsh Government target to eradicate fuel poverty in Wales by 2018 will be missed by a mile and it is therefore essential that the Welsh Government should agree to a revised Fuel Poverty Strategy in Wales. As Chair of the Cross Party Group on Fuel Poverty and Energy Efficiency, I will therefore be contacting the Cabinet Secretary to take this forward”.