Poverty and the cost of living

The Programme for Government 2026 to 2030 belongs to the Seventh Senedd. Choose the Seventh Senedd to see how often each commitment has come up.

Source: Welsh Government, Programme for government 2026 to 2030: New ambition for Wales, first published on 10 September 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Mentions are found by matching the names of plans, bodies and schemes; a mention says nothing about progress.

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• 67% of Welsh adults said the cost of living would be very important to their vote.
• 40% of Welsh adults said poverty and inequality would be very important to their vote.
• 32% of Welsh adults said welfare and benefits would be very important to their vote.

Ipsos asked 747 Welsh adults aged 16+ between 2 April 2026 and 8 April 2026, before the 2026 Senedd election. People could choose as many issues as they liked. More on public opinion.

No written questions on this brief in the Sixth Senedd yet.

No petitions on this brief opened in the Sixth Senedd.

Committee sessions where this brief was on the agenda, newest first.

1. 4 November 2024Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee

   Evidence session with the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning

   Legislative Consent Memorandum on the Great British Energy Bill

   138 contributions

275 contributions in the Sixth Senedd, newest first.

1. Rebecca EvansLabour

   4 November 2024, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee

   Legislative Consent Memorandum on the Great British Energy Bill: Evidence session with the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning

   I was keen to stress as well to UK Government Ministers that, actually, if they want to make rapid progress and have early wins in this space, then Wales is the place to do it, because we are so much further ahead in terms of the plans and the structures.

   Tagged from the title of its item or question: “Energy Bill”Official Record

2. Jennifer Pride

   4 November 2024, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee

   Legislative Consent Memorandum on the Great British Energy Bill: Evidence session with the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning

   Yes, absolutely. Thank you. You talked there, Mr Davies, about a framework and where Great British Energy fits in that framework, and I think that really chimes well with what we've been doing in Wales. We've been taking a much more planned approach, as you know, in Wales, to the energy system.…

   Tagged from the title of its item or question: “Energy Bill”Official Record

3. Rebecca EvansLabour

   4 November 2024, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee

   Legislative Consent Memorandum on the Great British Energy Bill: Evidence session with the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning

   All this Bill does, essentially, is set up Great British Energy, or allow it to be designated, and then set out the strategic priorities for it. So, those discussions about how we will work in partnership with the UK Government, through Trydan Gwyrdd Cymru and Ynni Cymru, are ongoing at the moment…

   Tagged from the title of its item or question: “Energy Bill”Official Record

4. Alun DaviesLabour

   4 November 2024, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee

   Legislative Consent Memorandum on the Great British Energy Bill: Evidence session with the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning

   Taking this forward, I was interested in an answer you gave earlier to Luke, because, like you, in your original answers, I'm very much in favour—. Sorry, my throat is—. Perhaps it knows what I'm going to say. [Laughter.] I'm very much in favour, politically, of this legislation; I'd like to see the…

   Tagged from the title of its item or question: “Energy Bill”Official Record

5. Rebecca EvansLabour

   4 November 2024, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee

   Legislative Consent Memorandum on the Great British Energy Bill: Evidence session with the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning

   Yes. Those discussions have been in place for some time. I met with Michael Shanks, the Minister with responsibility for this, on 24 October, and officials are meeting regularly with their counterparts as well.

   Tagged from the title of its item or question: “Energy Bill”Official Record

6. Mike HedgesLabour

   4 November 2024, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee

   Legislative Consent Memorandum on the Great British Energy Bill: Evidence session with the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning

   Diolch. Moving on to the Great British Energy Bill, are you planning regular discussions with the UK Government on the development of this Bill?

   Tagged for: “Energy Bill”Official Record

7. Luke FletcherPlaid

   4 November 2024, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee

   Legislative Consent Memorandum on the Great British Energy Bill: Evidence session with the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning

   Because one of the things I picked up on in the Bill is that there's a provision within that Bill to make it easier for those EU products to enter the UK market. So, the whole point of that is, essentially, to make things easier, clarity for businesses and to take things forward, yes?

   Tagged from the title of its item or question: “Energy Bill”Official Record

8. Rebecca EvansLabour

   4 November 2024, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee

   Legislative Consent Memorandum on the Great British Energy Bill: Evidence session with the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning

   What the Bill will do is allow the law to be updated to recognise new or updated EU product requirements. And the intention then is to prevent unnecessary costs and inconvenience to businesses, providing that regulatory stability. So, clearly, that's in the interest of UK businesses and Welsh…

   Tagged from the title of its item or question: “Energy Bill”Official Record

9. Luke FletcherPlaid

   4 November 2024, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee

   Legislative Consent Memorandum on the Great British Energy Bill: Evidence session with the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning

   Diolch, Gadeirydd. We touched earlier in the session on the interaction of these Bills with the internal market of the UK. Looking at this Bill specifically, though, what assessment has the Welsh Government made of its interaction with the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020?

   Tagged from the title of its item or question: “Energy Bill”Official Record

10. Rebecca EvansLabour

    4 November 2024, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee

    Legislative Consent Memorandum on the Great British Energy Bill: Evidence session with the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning

    …for the LCM debate to come early in the new year for both Bills. And we would expect the Great British Energy Bill to be ahead of the PRM Bill.

    Tagged for: “Energy Bill”Official Record

11. Natasha AsgharConservative

    4 November 2024, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee

    Legislative Consent Memorandum on the Great British Energy Bill: Evidence session with the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning

    Sorry, Chair, just a final question from my section that I was going to ask. I appreciate I asked about time frame earlier. You've obviously had conversations—you mentioned on Friday. Have you got a timetable in place as to what's going to happen next? Can you share with the committee the stages…

    Tagged from the title of its item or question: “Energy Bill”Official Record

12. Rebecca EvansLabour

    4 November 2024, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee

    Legislative Consent Memorandum on the Great British Energy Bill: Evidence session with the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning

    Well, we're hopeful and we'll continue those discussions, but as soon as we're at a point where we can conclude those discussions—. I do wish I was able to sit here today with a solid answer for you, but as soon as we are able to, we'll provide more information.

    Tagged from the title of its item or question: “Energy Bill”Official Record

13. Rebecca EvansLabour

    4 November 2024, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee

    Legislative Consent Memorandum on the Great British Energy Bill: Evidence session with the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning

    I think one is around what the role is for Welsh Ministers and for the Senedd. One example of a change could be around the changing of 'consult' to 'consent'. I think that would be probably one of the most simple ways in which we could address some of the concerns that have been raised. But, as the…

    Tagged from the title of its item or question: “Energy Bill”Official Record

14. Natasha AsgharConservative

    4 November 2024, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee

    Legislative Consent Memorandum on the Great British Energy Bill: Evidence session with the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning

    Thank you, Chair. I appreciate the working together with the UK Government now. I appreciate conversations have been had, but I just wanted to know: are there any specific changes to the Bill the Welsh Government would like to see before you recommend consent going forward now?

    Tagged from the title of its item or question: “Energy Bill”Official Record

15. Rebecca EvansLabour

    4 November 2024, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee

    Legislative Consent Memorandum on the Great British Energy Bill: Evidence session with the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning

    I suppose that's a kind of political question about how we engage with the various parties within the Senedd, and I think those conversations will be absolutely critical going forward. I know that some parts of the Senedd will take a principled view on LCMs. Perhaps there is a conversation to be had…

    Tagged from the title of its item or question: “Energy Bill”Official Record

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