SENEDD members narrowly rejected Conservative calls to urge the UK Government to reverse its decision to end universal winter fuel payments.

Labour voted down the motion while Plaid Cymru joined the Conservatives in backing it, with the final tally 23 in favour and 24 against.

Leading the debate, Joel James warned that about 400,000 households in Wales will lose up to £300 per person after the UK Government’s decision.

He said the cuts blindsided millions of pensioners, who have now been put into a state of fear over the affordability of bills which are predicted to jump by 10% in October.

The Tory shadow social justice secretary rejected “disingenuous, manufactured” claims of a £22bn black hole in UK public finances, saying a recent audit identified no such shortfall.

He described the reforms as “exceptionally shortsighted and callous”, warning it risks pushing thousands of pensioners into fuel poverty.

Mr James pointed out that almost 900,000 people are entitled to pension credit – one of the eligibility criteria for winter fuel payments – but do not claim the benefit.

He said: “What is most alarming … the new Labour [UK] Government has commissioned no impact assessment whatsoever on the impact of this cut.

“And the Labour Party’s own research has estimated that by scrapping universal winter fuel payments, excess deaths will increase by almost 4,000 people.”

Mr James, who represents South Wales Central, accused Welsh Labour MPs of showing “contempt and cowardice” by failing to vote against scrapping the cut.

Sioned Williams, who represents South Wales West, said Plaid Cymru shares the Conservatives’ concerns and the party would back the motion.

But the shadow social justice secretary described the cut as a continuation of the austerity agenda of the previous UK Government.

She said: “That is a crucial point in our view because we are a party that completely rejects the ideology and policies of austerity.”

Ms Williams described austerity as an entirely ineffective and unfair policy which transfers money from the poorest to the richest in society,

She told the Senedd the Conservative UK Government forced pensioners to make impossible decisions between eating and heating,

Ms Williams said it was hugely concerning to see “spineless” Welsh Labour MPs allowing the cut to pass through the UK Parliament.

Mike Hedges, a Labour backbencher, accused the Conservatives of hypocrisy, pointing out that the party previously called for an end to universal free prescriptions in Wales.

The Swansea East MS, who chairs the cross-party group on older people, told the chamber: “I started to receive my state pension in July.

“I’ve never received a winter fuel allowance payment and now I will not.

“Do I need it? No. Do Paul McCartney, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Elton John, Sting or Mick Jagger need it? I could go on … naming people who are very wealthy and don’t need it.”

Mr Hedges said: “There is a discussion to be had over the universality of support – there’s a balance between ensuring no one misses out and the cost of provision.”

Peter Fox, a Conservative MS, said an estimated 21,000 pensioners in his Monmouth constituency will lose out on winter fuel payments.

He told the chamber: “That payment, brought in by Rishi Sunak, was incredibly important in helping support pensioners through harsh winters.

“Now, we’re seeing this vital support being ripped from them to help fund things like the massive pay rises to train drivers who already have a great wage.”

He accused Labour of u-turns, saying Keir Starmer put out a pre-election video captioned: “Pensioners deserve security in retirement and that is what my government will deliver.”

Mr Fox, the former leader of Monmouthshire council, stressed that cutting winter fuel payments was a political choice and money could have been found elsewhere.

Heledd Fychan challenged Labour backbenchers, asking: “Imagine if a Conservative government had done this – what would your comments have been then?”

The Plaid Cymru MS said: “People will die as a result of this decision, we know that.”

Ms Fychan, who represents South Wales Central, said one in six older people in Wales is living in relative income poverty, with an older population than the rest of the UK.

James Evans, the Tory MS for Brecon and Radnorshire, told the chamber winter fuel payments have been a lifeline for older people.

He accused Labour of punishing pensioners: “What they don’t deserve from this Labour government in Westminster is to live in fear of hypothermia and crippling debt.”

Laura Anne Jones claimed the UK Government’s sums do not add up.

The Tory MS said cutting winter fuel support has been estimated to save about £1.5bn but if everyone eligible for pension credit claimed it, it would actually cost an additional £3.3bn.

Ms Jones raised an “appalling” constituency case of a woman in her 70s who was so worried about paying energy bills that she was forced to take a part-time job.

She added that 1.6 million disabled pensioners will be stripped of their payment.

Natasha Asghar, who also represents South Wales East, said Senedd Conservatives were blamed and held to account in the chamber for UK Government decisions over 14 years.

“Yet during the first opportunity for scrutiny yesterday,” she said. “The first minister distanced herself immediately from Keir Starmer, abdicating responsibility.”

Responding to the debate on September 18, Jane Hutt reiterated that difficult decisions are being taken due to a £22bn “black hole” in the public purse and a “bleak” outlook.

Wales’ social justice secretary said the former chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, failed to account for public sector rises recommended by independent pay review bodies.

Ms Hutt highlighted support available via the discretionary assistance fund but she warned that too few people are taking up the Welsh Government  grants.

She said: “We have to support those people who have been affected by 14 years of austerity and Tory economic mismanagement.

“We have a duty to turn this around at all levels of government and reach out to those most affected by the shameful legacy of the £22bn black hole.”

WALES’ new finance secretary insisted inflation-busting pay rises for teachers, doctors and nurses will not lead to a reduction in spending on public services.

Mark Drakeford, who was named finance secretary last week, said the Welsh Government worked through the summer to ensure funding is in place to support pay awards.

He told the Senedd: “As a result of all that work, we are confident we can fund these awards without the need to reduce spending in these or other public services.”

In a statement on September 17, the ex-First Minister said teachers will receive 5.5% with an extra £5m to move additional learning needs co-ordinators to a leadership pay range.

He explained that doctors and nurses on ‘Agenda for Change’ terms will also receive 5.5% while NHS-employed doctors and dentists will receive 6%.

Prof Drakeford added that ministers have agreed an average 5% increase to the total pay bill for staff in the Welsh Government civil service and arm’s-length bodies.

He said: “Taken together, this means that over 180,000 public sector workers – from hospital cleaners to teachers and civil servants – will receive an above-inflation pay award this year.”

But the finance secretary, who previously held the role from 2016 until 2018 when he became First Minister, cautioned that the financial climate remains challenging.

“Difficult decisions will once again shape next year’s budget,” he said.

“However, making this decision now, giving certainty to public sector employers and, crucially, those who work in our public services, means that increases will be reflected in pay packets as soon as possible, and before the end of this year at the latest.”

The Welsh Government will publish its draft 2025/26 spending plans on December 10.

Peter Fox, the Conservatives’ shadow finance secretary, welcomed some pay increases, saying they will go some way to improving retention rates in health and education.

But he raised concerns about public pay as a whole in his response to the statement.

Mr Fox, who represents Monmouth, said: “We must be careful that both this government and the one in Westminster do not lose control of public pay.

“The Labour government in Westminster has offered almost £10,000 pay rises to train drivers, who are already on more than £60,000 a year, while taking much-needed fuel payments from our pensioners.

“I’m glad that you are confident that, unlike your colleagues in Westminster, you do not feel as if you have to cut services for this round of pay rises. That’s welcome.

“However, as you indicate, there could be more public sector rises to come.

“With this in mind, what reassurances can you give the people of Wales that these future pay rises are not going to come at the expense of the most vulnerable people in society?”

His Plaid Cymru counterpart Heledd Fychan broadly welcomed the pay rises as she called for an update on local government staff who are not part of the latest settlement.

But she warned: “The fact that the Labour government in Westminster is as committed, it would appear, to austerity as their Conservative predecessors is deeply concerning.”

Ms Fychan said anything less than pay restoration to pre-austerity levels would point to empty promises in terms of the benefits of Labour governments at both ends of the M4.

The South Wales Central MS stressed that pay alone will not solve all the problems facing the workforce, nor resolve difficulties recruiting and retaining staff.

She said: “Although pay was a factor in the industrial action we have seen, it is important that we also acknowledge that staff have also decided to take action because of their concerns about working conditions.”

Carolyn Thomas, a Labour backbencher, who represents North Wales, welcomed the uplift in public sector pay, asking about the social care and childcare sectors.

Prof Drakeford pointed to Welsh Government funding to ensure social care workers are paid the real living wage and committed to working closely with councils on childcare.

He said: “There are other groups of workers in the public sector who we know do not get the recognition, both in public esteem and in pay, for the value of the work that they do.”

Plaid Cymru’s Peredur Owen Griffiths asked about people employed by charities, such as nurses in hospices who benchmark against public sector pay awards.

Prof Drakeford told the finance committee chair: “We recognise that deals that are set in the direct public service have knock-on implications for the third sector.

“We have a range of ways in which we are able to navigate that.”

OPPOSITION Senedd members accused Wales’ new First Minister Eluned Morgan of passing the buck as latest statistics showed record-long waiting lists.

Mabon ap Gwynfor pointed out that six Labour frontbenchers have held the health portfolio over the past 25 years, including the current and two former First Ministers.

The Plaid Cymru shadow health secretary said: “Although we have seen different faces coming and going over the summer, it’s the same old story when it comes to the health service.

“Standards going down, waiting times getting longer, staff being pushed to the extreme, and from the government? – nothing but repeated empty promises.”

Mr ap Gwynfor, who represents Dwyfor Meironnydd, accused ministers of putting the horse before the cart by “fixating” on outcomes without first plotting a credible path.

Leading a Plaid Cymru debate, he criticised Eluned Morgan for pointing the finger at health board executives, saying it typifies a tendency to blame everyone else.

Sam Rowlands, the Conservatives’ shadow health secretary, similarly accused the First Minister of passing the buck to NHS executives.

He said: “Health boards have a big job to do to work through these waiting lists but a First Minister and a government must not abdicate its responsibility,”

Pointing out that the Welsh Government previously cut the health budget, he urged ministers to spend the full 20% uplift from spending in England on NHS Wales.

Mr Rowlands, who represents North Wales, warned the Welsh health service is worse on every major metric, with 23,000 people on waiting lists for more than two years.

The former council leader highlighted the Darzi review of the NHS in England as he called for a similar independent investigation in Wales.

Rhun ap Iorwerth also focused on the “damning” Darzi report.

He said: “Keir Starmer is right … the situation in England is disastrous … more than 10% of the population of England on waiting lists. But in Wales, of course, the figure is 20%.”

Mr ap Iorwerth reiterated his party’s calls for the Welsh Government to declare a health crisis but he accused ministers of being unwilling to recognise the gravity of the situation.

He asked: “If it’s not an emergency, then how can the situation be described?

“And how can Labour describe a situation in England as a crisis when the situation in Wales in so many ways is so much worse?”

The Ynys Môn MS said 316 people were waiting a year for their first appointment in 2012, with the corresponding figure now standing at more than 74,000.

Jenny Rathbone, a Labour backbencher, accused the Conservatives of being unfair to Baroness Morgan by failing to recognise the “heavy lifting” she did as health minister.

The Cardiff Central MS stressed the importance of community social care, saying hundreds of people medically do not need to be in the University Hospital of Wales in Heath, Cardiff.

Plaid Cymru’s Sioned Williams accused the UK Government of continuing to apply austerity. She said studies show poverty makes people ill, so austerity is damaging people’s health.

Her party colleague Cefin Campbell warned children and young people are suffering most as a result of the Welsh Government’s “persistent inability to reduce waiting lists”.

Mr Campbell told the chamber at least 8,200 children and young people have been waiting more than a year, with 1,200 waiting at least two years.

He said: “The situation is particularly severe in Betsi Cadwaladr, where 62% of people under the age of 18 are having to wait longer than two years. 62% – it’s shameful.”

Wales’ new health secretary Jeremy Miles told the debate on September 18 that cutting waiting times is at the top of his to-do list after his appointment a week earlier.

Mr Miles told the chamber long waiting times are a result of the pandemic and a decade of austerity which “cast a long shadow”.

The former Welsh Labour leadership contender claimed work to reduce waiting times is having an impact despite financial pressures and a significant increase in demand.

He said: “Long waits of over two years have reduced by 67% since its high point in March 2022, and long waits for diagnostic tests have reduced by almost a third.

“Now, around 3% of people on waiting lists are waiting longer than two years compared with almost 10% in March 2022.”

The health secretary said the Welsh Government’s recovery plan is driving waits down as he pointed to an extra £900m for the NHS this year and last.

Mr Miles, who previously held responsibility for education and the economy, recognised there is too much variation across Wales in terms of productivity and performance.

Highlighting a new waiting times bulletin, he said: “It will help us identify good performance and where health boards need to do more to learn from those making the best progress.”

The Neath MS said the NHS will introduce a “one-stop” approach to reduce the number of appointments needed and streamline pathways by removing unnecessary steps.

Mr ap Gwynfor was disappointed by the health secretary’s response, accusing Labour of continuing an austerity agenda and failing to provide a fair funding settlement for Wales.

Plaid Cymru’s motion was narrowly defeated, 23-24, with the Conservatives voting in favour and Labour against. The Welsh Government’s “delete-all” amendment was agreed.

Monthly NHS performance data, published this morning, shows some improvements but overall waiting lists continue to worsen.

The headline figure for patient pathways – which include people waiting for more than one treatment – was 796,600 waiting to start treatment – the highest on record.

This is estimated to equate to 616,700 people, another unwelcome record.

The number of immediately life-threatening “red” calls responded to within eight minutes was up 3.6% to 51.8% on the previous month. But this remains short of the 65% target.

In Wales’ emergency departments, the number of patients spending less than four hours in A&E remained flat at 69.3% against a target of 95%.

The health service also missed a target of no patient waiting more than 12 hours, with 9,489 waiting at least 12 hours, though this metric improved by 6.6% in August.

But the number of pathways waiting more than a year for a first outpatient appointment worsened, with a 2.6% increase to 76,132.

Performance against a target of 75% of cancer patients starting treatment within 62 days declined to 55% in July, down 1.7% on the previous month and 3.2% annually.