What Wales makes of the Budget: 'It helps, but it's not enough'
BBCChancellor John Healey has set out the government's tax and spending plans in his Budget, the first since Andy Burnham became prime minister. But what do people in Wales think?
On Wednesday the Budget focused on easing household costs, with energy bill support, a £100 payment for many households, higher state pensions and minimum wages, and changes designed to help carers and low-income pensioners.
But while some felt the removal of gas standing charges would make a huge difference, for others the changes are not enough to make a difference to their lives.
Plaid Cymru, which runs Wales' government, said the plans risked the "kind of spending reductions Wales experienced during the worst years of Tory cuts".
Natera Mounter, 30, lives in Tonyrefail in Rhondda Cynon Taf and is an unpaid carer for her 18-month-old son.
She welcomed the national living wage increasing, but said with increases including fuel prices and food prices, it was "not enough".
"We're living in a society where it's almost becoming the norm to have financial difficulties, to access food banks, and having to rely on those kind of services that were initially set up for those who were the most in need," she said.
"Now it's so frequent, and it's so normalised."
The food bank at the Lighthouse Project in Tonyrefail has seen an increase in users.
It is not just those who are unemployed who now need it but also teachers and nurses, said Amanda Richards, a community councillor for the area.
"It's very sad when you think some people are working 40-50 hour weeks and can't afford to feed their children."
In England, those living in a home in council tax bands A to D will receive a one-off £100 "Household Energy Payment" from January, funded by extra tax on banks.
The Welsh government has confirmed it will also make a £100 cost-of-living payment to about one million homes.
But Amanda said a £100 payment did not work out to very much, adding she would have to wait and see if the minimum wage increase had any effect.
"You do see a lot of people really struggling," she said.
Meanwhile, in Wrexham, Dylan Sturrock previously worked as a plasterer but now looks after his children aged 6, 5, and 2. His family receive Universal Credit.
The 22-year-old agreed that the one-off £100 payment did not go far enough, but said he largely supported the Chancellor's plans to scrap standing charges for gas bills next year.
"It's going to get colder soon, and we'll have to put the heating on every day to heat the house up for the kids so that they're not cold.
"It's not going to make a difference is it? £100...," he said. "That would be gone in a month."
Dylan said one thing that would help his family would be a drop in fuel prices.
On Wednesday, it was announced that a freeze on fuel duty would be extended again to July.
"It's horrible to drive at the moment with the prices," he said. "I'm putting about £60-£80 a week in the car in petrol.
"The prices have shot up, and I don't really see them coming down.
"I do about 100 miles a week, so the fuel is definitely hitting the pocket harder at the minute."
Louise Edwards, 29, is a single mum-of-one from Wrexham, and works part time.
She was supportive of the UK government's move to help households with rising energy bills.
"They're going to make a massive difference if they can remove the standing charges, people will at least be paying for the electric which they're using," she said.
"£100 is a good chunk of gas. That should cover at least two months, and should make a difference throughout the winter."
Back in Tonyrefail, high demand for period products has shocked community volunteer Theresa Harvey, who said she was naïve to the poverty in Rhondda Cynon Taf before moving there three years ago.
Theresa, 59, said she was pleased to see the national living wage increase and "hopes it will have a good impact" on the people she supports at the Lighthouse Project.
She said she would like the Welsh government to honour a £100 household energy payment as "it's got to be united across the UK, it massively helps people".
"When it gets colder, people have to be able to put the heating on," she said.
Linda Nichel, 74, from Tonyrefail works in the community centre in the area and said the Budget announcement on state pensions will not impact her as she is on a "small private pension".
The triple lock policy means that the state pension will go up in line with average wage increases, at 3.9%.
"We're not going to starve, but I know a lot of people who will go hungry," Linda said.
"It's the prices of food and drink which is laughable really, when you think I pay £200 a month for my gas and electric. I'm afraid to put it on all day - but you should be putting it on all day because we're older now."
She said she felt frustrated, because "it seems the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer".
"I think 14 years of Tory austerity has put us in a terrible hole, and two years of Labour government isn't enough to really get us out of that hole," she said.
Linda said she wished the Budget had covered "not giving the fat cats the money, the ones who wreck the water, all the supermarkets having a massive profit".
Phil Williams, 63, from Tonypandy, and Michelle Williams, 59, from Porthcawl are both retired and living off their savings.
Phil said: "I'm not hopeful from today's Budget.
He voted for Reform in the last election, and said: "It's time for a change, the country needs to have a sharp shock".
Phil, who has suffered with his mental health for 40 years, runs a men's mental health group in Tonypandy and said there were between eight and 12 men coming every week.
"Finances is one of the topics we discuss, some of the men are out of work and struggling to meet the bills which causes stress, leading to their relationships breaking down," he said.
Phil now uses an electric bike instead of his van due to the rise in fuel prices.
"Prices have to go up at some point, but there has to be a limit of what it goes up to," he said.
