Cost of Living: Wales

The Government are absolutely determined to lower the cost of living for families across Wales and the whole UK. That is why we are benefiting 69,000 children in Wales by scrapping the two-child limit. It is why we are slashing household energy bills by an average of £150 a year, and why we are again increasing the national minimum and living wage, building on the previous increase, which boosted the incomes of up to 160,000 workers in Wales.

The latest interest rate cut—the sixth since Labour formed this Government—is great news for mortgage holders in Wales, North Warwickshire and Bedworth and across the UK, bringing down the cost of family mortgages by almost £1,400 a year. Will the Secretary of State update the House on how this Government’s policies are helping to strengthen our economy and improve the cost of living as a result?

My hon. Friend is absolutely right; this Government are supporting people across Wales and the UK with the cost of living. In comparison with when we came into government, households that take out a new mortgage are saving around £1,400 a year on their mortgage repayments. We have also increased the state pension by 4.8%, which will take effect in April, benefiting 700,000 pensioners across Wales. We have also uprated the universal credit standard allowance by over 6%—the first ever permanent real-terms increase—benefiting 320,000 households in Wales.

The cost of living is still a major concern for my constituents in Llanelli, so I very much welcome the decision by this Labour Government to give households £150 to help with their domestic energy bills, but can the Secretary of State explain exactly who is eligible and when and how they will receive the money?

Energy bills are a significant issue for people across the country. That is why, thanks to this Labour Government, from April this year all households will see an average £150 reduction in costs on their energy bills. Energy suppliers will pass on the savings automatically to households.

My hon. Friend will have seen today the launch of our warm homes plan, which is a £15 billion fund. In Wales, it will make grants available for households to replace gas boilers with heat pumps, and it will mean stronger standards for landlords who privately rent homes, so that they are safer, warmer and more affordable to run.

I call the shadow Secretary of State.

Wales could be disproportionately affected by US tariffs, which could be a challenge for many Welsh businesses—the words of Labour First Minister Baroness Eluned Morgan in correspondence to the Prime Minister. There has been lots of talk about traitors, but over the past 27 years we, the Conservatives, are the ones who have seriously scrutinised, challenged and exposed the failings of Welsh Labour, which is clearly propped up by Plaid and the Lib Dems. Will the Secretary of State confirm that it is the two fabled Labour Governments who simply cannot work together who are making the cost of living and unemployment worse in Wales?

Wages are up, and inward investment is up. Inactivity is down on the year, and unemployment is down on the year. We have also had six cuts in interest rates, meaning that families taking out a new mortgage are £1,400 a year better off than they were under the Tories.