Agenda item

To consider the following Motion in the names of Councillors Marchington and J Lawson;

This Council notes that:

·       On 1 April 2022, Ofgem increased the energy price cap by 54%;

·       In light of the increased energy price cap, the average standard tariff energy bill will increase by £693 per year, from £1,277 to £1,971. The average pre-pay meter energy bill will increase by £708 per year (Ofgem 2022);

·       On 6 April 2022, the Government increased national insurance by 1.25 percentage points, which is projected to cost the average Kirklees family an additional £600 per year;

·       The Government has suspended the pension ‘triple lock’ for 2022/23, meaning that the state pension will increase by 3.1%, instead of the 8.3% under the triple lock formula. The decision to suspend the triple lock could cost Kirklees pensioners almost £500 a year (TUC 2022);

·       The decision taken in June 2022 to impose a ‘windfall tax’ on the super-profits of oil and gas companies and to redistribute this as a one-off payment of £400 to households later this year. Council notes that the windfall tax was first proposed by Sir Ed Davey MP, leader of the Liberal Democrats, in May 2022. Though this windfall tax is welcome, Council believes it does not go nearly far enough and the Government should be doing much more to support local people through the cost-of-living crisis.

This Council believes that:

The cost-of-living crisis, which is being caused predominantly by high inflation outstripping wage and benefit increases and exacerbated by recent tax increases, affects all of us, but will hit poorer households harder. It will also have a significant impact on community and charitable organisations, and may impact on their vital services, and it will impact on businesses. Unfortunately, the crisis will also have an impact on people’s mental health and wellbeing.

This Council, therefore, declares a ‘Cost of Living Emergency’ and calls on the Government to: 

·       Immediately reduce the standard rate of VAT from 20% to 17.5% for one year, saving the average Kirklees household £600 this year;

·       Immediately reintroduce the pensions triple lock to support Kirklees pensioners;

·       Immediately restore the Universal Credit supplement of £20, which was cancelled by the Government in September 2021;

The Council instructs the Chief Executive to write to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to express the Council’s demands for VAT to be cut to 17.5%, for the reintroduction of the pensions triple-lock and for the £20 Universal Credit supplement to be restored.

Finally, Council calls for a cost-of-living emergency summit, attended by a range of stakeholders, including Citizens Advice, food banks, local trade unions and chambers of commerce. Local MPs will also be invited to attend this hybrid meeting.”

Motion approved as amended;

This Council notes:

On 1 April 2022, Ofgem increased the energy price cap by 54%;

• In light of the increased energy price cap, the average standard tariff energy bill will increase by £693 per year, from £1,277 to £1,971. The average pre-pay meter energy bill will increase by £708 per year (Ofgem 2022);

• On 6 April 2022, the Government increased national insurance by 1.25 percentage points, which is projected to cost the average Kirklees family an additional £600 per year;

• The Government has suspended the pension ‘triple lock’ for 2022/23, meaning that the state pension will increase by 3.1%, instead of the 8.3% under the triple lock formula. The decision to suspend the triple lock could cost Kirklees pensioners almost £500 a year (TUC 2022);

·       The decision taken in June 2022 to impose a ‘windfall tax’ on the super-profits of oil and gas companies and to redistribute this as a one-off payment of £400 to households later this year. Though this windfall tax is welcome together with more recent government announcements on support for our citizens, Council believes it does not go nearly far enough and the Government should be doing much more to support local people through the cost-of living crisis.

This Council believes that: The cost-of-living crisis, which is being caused predominantly by high inflation outstripping wage and benefit increases and exacerbated by recent tax increases, affects all of us, but will hit poorer households harder. It will also have a significant impact on community and charitable organisations, and may impact on their vital services, and it will impact on businesses. Unfortunately, the crisis will also have an impact on people’s mental health and wellbeing.

This Council therefore notes the focus that this Administration has given to this crisis. This has led to the Council providing the following cost of living support to its citizens:

·       Funding 3 foodbanks in Kirklees Council

·       Partnership, with Cummins and the Bread-and-Butter Thing – provision of affordable food to communities

·       Partnership with VCSE on tackling poverty

·       £650K LWP fund

·       A one-off £70 per child payment to families entitled to free school meals

·       A one-off payment to pensioners who claim council tax reduction

·       Cost of living advice and support for citizens through our Cost-of-Living campaign

o   Financial advice

o   Benefit advice

o   Housing advice

Further this Council notes that Cost of Living support is now a key objective for all the Council’s Directorates and work is being carried out to identify initiatives to further assist our citizens with the current and projected financial issues they face due to raising energy costs and overall inflationary pressures. Our partnership with the Voluntary sector is crucial in this and at Cabinet on 5^th July a package of investment was agreed which will provide financial support to the sector in Kirklees to help it assist citizens in this cost-of-living crisis.

This Council recognises that as a Local Authority we can only do so much, (the LGA has starkly shown that there is at least a £3.6bn shortfall in funding for LAs, further hampering LAs in supporting their citizens), Government needs to take immediate and significant action to help the millions who are suffering because of this Crisis. This is not simply a matter of topping up people’s incomes so that they can afford some of the luxuries of life, it is about people being able to put food on the table for their children and keeping a roof over their heads. And it is not about short-term fixes: the Government need to put in place actions which will provide sustainable support to those in need.

 This Council, therefore, declares a ‘Cost of Living Emergency’ and calls on the Government to:

-       Immediately reduce the standard rate of VAT from 20% to 17.5% for one year, saving the average Kirklees household £600 this year;

-       Immediately reintroduce the pensions triple lock to support Kirklees pensioners;

-       Immediately restore the Universal Credit supplement of £20, which was cancelled by the Government in September 2021;

-       Immediately provide additional financial support to LAs to resolve the gap in funding as outlined by the LGA.

The Council instructs the Chief Executive to write to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to express the Council’s demands for VAT to be cut to 17.5%, for the reintroduction of the pensions triple lock, for the £20 Universal Credit supplement to be restored and that LA funding is brought in line with the LGA’s demands.

This Council requires that Cabinet continues to work in partnership with the voluntary sector with the limited resources available from Central Government to support families who are experiencing continuing hardship due to the cost-of-living crisis.”