In response to a question from Brecon & Radnorshire MS James Evans, First Minister Mark Drakeford has played down the importance of rising fuel bills for people in rural areas.

At First Minister’s Questions on Tuesday, Mr. Evans asked: “First Minister, people in rural areas spend ten per cent more of their income on fuel for their cars, so can you tell me what the Welsh Government is doing to improve transport connectivity in rural areas so people don’t have to rely on fossil fuels?”

In response, the First Minister said: “There are a whole series of things that the Welsh Government has done over many years to invest in such schemes in all parts of Wales, including, of course, rural Wales.

“People who live in the Member’s constituency will be worrying less about the things that he’s raised with me today than whether they will have less to live on next year as a result of the decisions that his Government is about to make.”

In October, the UK Government’s Energy Price Guarantee kicked in, which will reduce the unit cost of electricity and gas so that a typical household pays, on average, around £2,500 a year on their energy bill, for the next two years. This is in addition to the Energy Bills Support Scheme, for which there will be £400 non-repayable discount to eligible households to help with their energy bills over winter 2022 to 2023.

Any households getting certain benefits may be entitled to a one-off payment of £200 from Powys Council to provide some support towards paying fuel bills as part of the Welsh Government Fuel Support Scheme.

In addition, as part of the council’s Discretionary Cost of Living Support Scheme, some of these households may also be entitled to a further one-off payment of £150 if they are responsible for paying off-grid heating fuel bills.