COST-OF-LIVING ‘PERFECT STORM’ NOT JUST LOOMING, IT’S LANDED

Plaid Cymru calls for emergency action plan to tackle cost-of-living crisis

Sioned Williams MS, Plaid Cymru’s spokesperson for social justice and equalities has called for Welsh Government to publish an emergency cost-of-living action plan as a “matter of urgency.”

Ms Williams says that too many households in Wales are being squeezed between rising costs for everyday items, rising household bills and stagnating wages, and the number of households struggling to pay for everyday items already equals the size of Swansea.

Plaid Cymru will be leading a debate in the Senedd this afternoon (Wednesday 19 January), calling on the Welsh Government to publish an emergency cost-of-living action plan to tackle the pressures caused by the twin problems of surging costs and stagnating wages.

Ms Williams says that alongside the action plan, attention must also be given to food poverty, fuel poverty, household debt and address the well-established links between debt and mental ill-health.  

Plaid Cymru’s spokesperson for social justice and equalities, Sioned Williams MS said,

“This crisis is not just looming – it’s already landed for too many Welsh households.  

Rising cost of living, increasing energy costs and stagnating wages are all in the maelstrom of what’s being called the ‘perfect storm.’

“Thousands of households in Wales – equivalent to the whole of Swansea – are already struggling to pay for everyday items. With rising energy costs and tax hikes approaching in Spring 2022, the predicted £1,200 additional costs will prove a leap too far for those who are already at a socio-economic disadvantage.

“With precious few months to go before the energy price rise cap is raised, Welsh Government must act with the appropriate urgency in tackling this imminent crisis, and publish an emergency action plan. While many of the levers are in the hands of the Tory government in Westminster, it’s up to us in Wales to protect people from the brunt of the storm.”