Responding to the publication of the End Child Poverty Network Cymru’s Fairness Test for Wales, Nuria Zolle, chair of the Fuel Poverty Charter Coalition for Wales, said:
“The Fuel Poverty Coalition welcomes the publication of the Fairness Test for Wales, and urges the Welsh Assembly Government to put it at the heart of its thinking in the forthcoming budget round, to ensure that spending cuts are properly considered.
“As a group we are mindful that there will be pressure to cut the programmes that tackle fuel poverty. But the benefits of these programmes need to be thought through. Cutting a few pounds from fuel poverty programmes will prove a poor choice, if it leads to more people living in cold homes and ends up putting greater pressure on the health services in the near future.”
The End Child Poverty Network Cymru is calling on the Welsh Assembly Government to commit to a Fairness Test for Wales which would be a verifiable and publicly transparent assessment of the impact of the budget on inequality of income, assets or access to public services.
End Child Poverty Network Cymru is specifically asking the Welsh Assembly Government:
1. Is there a process in place for assessing the impact of spending cuts in Wales on inequality of income, assets and access to services
2. If there is a process, in the interests of transparent government we urge you to place information about the process and its methodology in the public domain
3. If there is no such process, we urge you to develop one urgently to ensure that fairness is at the heart of the difficult decisions that the Welsh Assembly Government need to make in the November budget.
4. Publish the assessment reports alongside any budget reductions.
Notes
• For more information about the Fuel Poverty Coalition Cymru, see the website. http://www.fuelpovertycharterwales.org.uk/
The coalition aims to drive forward the fuel poverty agenda in Wales and campaigns for fuel poverty to be eradicated in Wales. We aim to do this in collaboration with the Welsh Assembly Government.
• The Fairness Test for Wales can be downloaded from the publication section of the End Child Poverty Network Cymru website: http://www.endchildpovertycymru.org.uk/areasofwork/childpoverty/povertypublications.html
Fuel Poverty campaigners back calls for a Fairness Test
Responding to the publication of the End Child Poverty Network Cymru’s Fairness Test for Wales, Nuria Zolle, chair of the Fuel Poverty Charter Coalition for Wales, said:
“The Fuel Poverty Coalition welcomes the publication of the Fairness Test for Wales, and urges the Welsh Assembly Government to put it at the heart of its thinking in the forthcoming budget round, to ensure that spending cuts are properly considered.
“As a group we are mindful that there will be pressure to cut the programmes that tackle fuel poverty. But the benefits of these programmes need to be thought through. Cutting a few pounds from fuel poverty programmes will prove a poor choice, if it leads to more people living in cold homes and ends up putting greater pressure on the health services in the near future.”
The End Child Poverty Network Cymru is calling on the Welsh Assembly Government to commit to a Fairness Test for Wales which would be a verifiable and publicly transparent assessment of the impact of the budget on inequality of income, assets or access to public services.
End Child Poverty Network Cymru is specifically asking the Welsh Assembly Government:
1. Is there a process in place for assessing the impact of spending cuts in Wales on inequality of income, assets and access to services
2. If there is a process, in the interests of transparent government we urge you to place information about the process and its methodology in the public domain
3. If there is no such process, we urge you to develop one urgently to ensure that fairness is at the heart of the difficult decisions that the Welsh Assembly Government need to make in the November budget.
4. Publish the assessment reports alongside any budget reductions.
Notes
• For more information about the Fuel Poverty Coalition Cymru, see the website. http://www.fuelpovertycharterwales.org.uk/
The coalition aims to drive forward the fuel poverty agenda in Wales and campaigns for fuel poverty to be eradicated in Wales. We aim to do this in collaboration with the Welsh Assembly Government.
• The Fairness Test for Wales can be downloaded from the publication section of the End Child Poverty Network Cymru website: http://www.endchildpovertycymru.org.uk/areasofwork/childpoverty/povertypublications.html