Recently Eastbourne became the first Council to declare a Cost of Living Crisis – through a Council Motion passed by the local Liberal Democrats.
You can find the full motion from Eastbourne here. The motion was passed prior to the Government announcing a Windfall Tax on the profits on oil and gas giants – first proposed by Lib Dem leader Ed Davey. An amended version is below that updates the reference to the Windfall Tax and provides a template for local parties to adapt for their area. It includes some data that can be localised that includes:
- Detailed local statistics for foodbank parcel distributions for each local authority provided by the Trussell Trust that can be found here.
- Statistics about the numbers of pensioners affected by the removal of the ‘triple-lock’ can be found on the Lib Dem Campaign Hub here.
Council Motion: Cost of Living Emergency
This Council notes that:
- On 1 April 2022, Ofgem increased the energy price cap by 54 per cent.
- In light of the increased energy price cap, the average standard tariff energy bill will increase by £693 per year. 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 family in AREA NAME an additional £600 a year.
- The Government has suspended the pensions ‘triple lock’ for 2022/3, meaning AREA NAME’s XX,XXX pensioners will see a rise of 3.1 per cent this year (instead of 8.3 per cent under the triple lock formula). This year, this will cost pensioners in AREA NAME hundreds of pounds.
- In 2021/22 AREA NAME Foodbanks distributed food parcels at a rate of XXXX per 100,000 people (Trussell Trust, 2022)
Council notes 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 the 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 therefore declares a ‘Cost of Living Emergency’ and calls on the Government to:
- Immediately reduce the standard rate of VAT from 20 per cent to 17.5 per cent for one year, saving the average household in AREA NAME a further £600 this year
- Immediately re-introduce the pensions triple lock to support AREA NAME’s pensioners.
- Immediately restore the Universal Credit supplement of £20, which was cancelled by the Government in September 2021.
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 re-introduction of the pensions triple-lock and for the £20 Universal Credit supplement to be restored.
Finally, Council calls for a local Cost-of-Living Emergency Summit, with stakeholders, including Citizens Advice, Food Banks, Local Trades Unions, and Chambers of Commerce and will invite local MPs to attend this hybrid meeting.