Minister for Social Justice says ‘No let up’ in cost-of-living pressures

Yesterday (Sep 26), the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip Jane Hutt MS made a statement regarding the pressures felt by people in Wales amid the cost-of-living crisis. She said:

“In January I made a statement to the Senedd about the relentless cost-of-living pressures that people across Wales were facing, and unfortunately there’s been no let up.

“Earlier this month, the Resolution Foundation reported that the past year has seen the biggest inflation shock in four decades. The Bank of England has raised the base rate 14 times in a row over the last two years, putting further pressure on household budgets already under huge strain from high energy, fuel and food costs.

“We’re committed to doing all we can to support people through this cost-of-living crisis, to mitigate the worst of its impacts, but also through the action we take to prevent people from experiencing poverty in the first place.”

The Minister said that many of the key levers for tackling poverty and the impacts of the cost-of-living crisis rested with the UK Government and that although we continue to urge the UK Government to live up to their responsibilities to the people of Wales, there is still more that can be done by using the levers in Wales to deliver a ‘made-in-Wales, made-for-Wales’ approach.

The Minister for Social Justice went on to outline some of the actions taken so far by the sub-committee in tackling the crisis in Wales:

“As part of our continued focus on the cost-of-living crisis, we’ve held regular meetings of the Cabinet sub-committee on cost of living.

“In August, the expert group that was formed to advise the sub-committee on the impact of the crisis on people in Wales recommended a series of actions they felt could be taken to mitigate the impact in Wales, and I’ve published this report today.

“We’re extremely grateful for the expert group’s work, and welcome their valuable recommendations. There are many actions in the report that we are already putting into practice, or will be able to take forward at pace.”

The full statement can be found here.

If you or someone you know is suffering from the impact of the cost of living, you can find support by visiting Welsh Gov.