Mark Drakeford has criticised new Prime Minister Liz Truss and claimed her plan to tackle energy costs "does nothing to help families" deal with other soaring costs. The First Minister made a statement on Thursday after Ms Truss, who became Prime Minister on Tuesday, announced a major support package which replaces the energy price cap with an "energy price guarantee" effectively freezing the price cap for an average home at £2,500 – or around £200 a month.
The plan -– worth between £100bn and £150bn – will "offer equivalent support” to businesses, schools, hospitals, other public organisations, and charities and will be financed through borrowing. Mr Drakeford said Ms Truss' announcement "does provide certainty for families and businesses in the short term" and that he welcomed "anything that provides that certainty and whatever relief that will bring to households and businesses faced with the prospects of even further rises in energy prices over the winter”.
But he said the plan “does nothing to help families with the general cost of inflation, in food inflation and in other prices that are rising". Mr Drakeford added: "It does nothing to help families with the very steep increases in energy prices that have already taken place from April of this year.
