Issue - meetings
Cost of Living Working Group
Meeting: 16/11/2022 - Council (Item 48)
48 Cost of Living Working Group 
PDF 171 KB
Purpose
To set out how the Council is responding to the Cost of Living and Warm Places Motions and to make recommendations for funding allocations for specific initiatives.
Recommendations
That Council resolves to:
a) Agree to allocate match funding of £20,000 for the Council Tax Hardship Fund from the balance of the Covid-19 Hardship Fund earmarked reserve, and,
b) Agree to allocate £40,000 from the Council Priorities Fund towards establishing a Food Network.
Additional documents:
Minutes:
The purpose of the report was to set out how the Council is responding to the Cost of Living and Warm Places Motions and to make recommendations for funding allocations for specific initiatives.
The Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing introduced the report and summarised how local initiatives in every community area across the Cotswolds were helping residents with the Cost Of Living Crisis. The Cost of Living Working Group had been established to promote, support and engage with these local initiatives and provide help and guidance to help residents to access what was available.
Council welcomed the report and the allocation of funds in the recommendation that would further help and support those on low incomes who were struggling to manage the crisis.
Council noted that a few areas of the District did not have established food distribution organisations and Town Councils had taken on much of this community coordination and support.
Council noted that the Cost of Living Working Group had recognised that all residents were having to deal with the Crisis including employed and self-employed workers, and those not in receipt of benefits.
RESOLVED: Council noted the response to the Cost of Living and Warm Places Motion detailed in this report and agreed to allocate match funding of £20,000 for the Council Tax Hardship Fund from the balance of the Covid-19 Hardship Fund earmarked reserve, and, agreed to allocate £40,000 from the Council Priorities Fund towards establishing a Food Network.
Voting Record – For 30, Against 0, Abstentions 0, Absent 4,
Meeting: 07/11/2022 - Cabinet (Item 61)
61 Response to warm places motion and funding to support cost of living crisis PDF 171 KB
Purpose:
To set out how the Council is responding to the Cost of Living and Warm Places Motions and to make recommendations for funding allocations for specific initiatives.
Council on 21 September 2022 resolved to refer the following motion to the November Cabinet to feed into the key objectives and requirements of the wider Cost Of Living Working Group that will report to the November Council meeting:
Motion on providing warm places for people struggling to heat their homes during the day. Proposed by Cllr Gina Blomefield; seconded by Cllr Sue Jepson:
We are all keenly aware that many people and especially those who are elderly pensioners, disabled or in some way vulnerable will find it challenging to keep their homes sufficiently warm during the day as well as at night this winter due to the soaring costs of energy.
Some of the councils around the country are already making contingency plans to open ‘public warm spaces’ where those in most need can go during the day safe in the knowledge that they will be warm and cared for.
Many of the parish halls, church rooms and other community buildings such as libraries, leisure centres and museums in the Cotswolds including CDC’s offices could be used in the same way by enlisting the support of parish and town councils, faith organisations, community and the voluntary sector to organise this. They would also be able to offer warm drinks or soup as well as advice on how to obtain help with energy related problems.
We suggest this would provide wonderful humanitarian support for some of the most vulnerable in our communities and recommend a simple process is agreed to fund this vitally needed help by identifying available grants to enable financial assistance to organisations prepared to get involved.
We ask that the agreement at the last Full Council for a cross party working group to be set up should be done urgently to implement ‘public warm places’ and also to look at other ways to help our Cotswold residents most negatively impacted by unaffordable heating and living costs.
Recommendations:
That Cabinet resolves to:
a) Note the response to the Cost of Living and Warm Places Motion detailed in this report and,
b) Recommend to Council to agree to allocate match funding of £20,000 for the Council Tax Hardship Fund from the balance of the Covid-19 Hardship Fund earmarked reserve, and,
c) Recommend to Council to agree to allocate £40,000 from the Council Priorities Fund towards establishing a Food Network.
Additional documents:
Minutes:
The purpose of the report was to set out how the Council was responding to the Cost of Living and Warm Places Motion, proposed by Councillor Gina Blomefield, and to make recommendations for funding allocations for specific initiatives.
The Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing introduced the report and updated Cabinet on the decision to create a Cost of Living Working Group and summarised the work that it had been completed.
Cabinet noted that Council on 21 September 2022 had resolved to refer the Warm Places Motion to November Cabinet to feed into the key objectives and requirements of the wider Cost Of Living Working Group that will report to the November Council meeting.
Cabinet noted that the Group had focused on further building the resilience of communities so that help could be provided at a very local level and on ensuring people knew where to go for help, using Cotswold Matters, Council newsletters and the Council’s website and social media to communicate and signpost to organisations and places offering support.
RESOLVED: Cabinet noted the response to the Cost of Living and Warm Places Motion detailed in this report, recommended to Council to agree to allocate match funding of £20,000 for the Council Tax Hardship Fund from the balance of the Covid-19 Hardship Fund earmarked reserve, and recommended to Council to agree to allocate £40,000 from the Council Priorities Fund towards establishing a Food Network.
Voting Record – For: 8, Against: 0, Abstention: 0, Absent: 0