Welsh secretary admits £100 off-grid help is not generous

The Welsh secretary has admitted that the help offered to homes who use off-grid energy is “not generous”.

Oil and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) are not covered by the energy price cap.

The UK government said off-grid households will get an extra £100 on top of a £400 payment going to everyone.

David TC Davies said he was “sure” the UK government would be looking at the issue.

He made the comments at his first appearance at the Welsh Affairs Select Committee since Rishi Sunak made him Welsh secretary.

Mr Davies said he had also made “known” in government his concerns about jobs at Newport Wafer Fab, which is the subject of a delayed review of its Chinese-ownership.

He said the new prime minister intends to have a “good and positive” relationship with the Welsh government.

Conservative MPs are among those who have raised concerns about the support made available to households who use oil or LPG.

Plaid Cymru’s Ben Lake has said the £100 would “leave many struggling to make ends meet”.

The previous business secretary, Jacob Rees Mogg, had defended the payment, saying there was “equivalence” in the level of support offered because the price of heating oil had not risen as much as the price of gas.

Asked about the issue by Delyn MP Rob Roberts, Mr Davies told the committee: “I think £100 was certainly not generous, given the circumstances.

“I accept the argument that, in general, those who are on network gas will have seen much steeper rises in percentage terms than those who are off grid but, nonetheless, everyone has seen huge rises in costs.

“I don’t feel the £100 was overly generous. I’m sure that’s another factor the government will be looking at.”

He suggested he would bring the matter up with UK government colleagues: “I will make a representation about that, given the percentage size in Wales of people who are off grid.”

Committee chairman and Conservative MP Stephen Crabb asked Mr Davies why the review into Newport Wafer Fab’s purchase by Chinese-owned Nexperia had been delayed.

The purchase of Britain’s largest chip plant was called in for a national security assessment on 25 May by Kwasi Kwarteng, when he was business secretary.

Mr Davies said there was a “national security issue here”, saying the type of material the plant produces is “vitally important from a strategic perspective”.

“The advice I’ve had is not to comment further on it, but to say that it has been very carefully looked at at the moment by government.”

“I know there are 200 jobs at risk,” he said, adding he shared concerns about their future prospects: “I’ve made that known”.

The wide-ranging evidence session touched on warnings from council chief Andrew Morgan that councils could have to make huge cuts without more government funding.

Councils get most of their funding from the Welsh government, which in turn receives most of it from the UK government.

Questioned by Cynon Valley Labour MP Beth Winter, Mr Davies some councils “have quite significant reserves and this maybe the moment to look at that”.

He said the Welsh government received an increase in funding of £2.5bn and has tax raising powers. “If they think there is a simple way to better fund local authorities they have the ability to do that themselves.”

Mr Davies said he would be speaking to the First Minister Mark Drakeford on Wednesday.

His appointment follows a difficult period of relations between the Welsh and UK governments.

During the short tenure of Liz Truss there was no official contact between the prime minister and the Welsh Labour leader.

Mr Davies said Mr Sunak had told him “it was important that we develop a good and positive relationship with the Welsh government”.