Agenda item

Context:

Our residents are facing a cost-of-living emergency. According to the Office for National Statistics, 88% of adults in the Great Britain reported an increase in their cost of living in May 2022, due to a range of factors including rising inflation, increases in energy prices and government tax rises.

 

The cost of living has been increasing across the UK since early 2021. in April 2022, inflation reached its highest recorded level, and the ONS estimates that it is now higher than at any time since around 1982, affecting the affordability of goods and services for households. Consumer prices, as measured by the Consumer Prices Index (CPI), were 9.0% higher in April 2022 than a year before. On 5 May, the Bank of England forecasted inflation to peak “at slightly over 10% in 2022 Q4, which would be the highest rate since 1982”. and predicted that it would remain above 9% up to and including Q1 2023.

 

Energy prices are another important driver of inflation , with both household energy tariffs and petrol costs increasing. From April 2021 to April 2022, domestic gas prices increased by 95% and domestic electricity prices by 54%. This is due in part to a return of global gas demand as pandemic restrictions are lifted and lower than normal production of natural gas. On 1 April 2022 the new price cap came into force. The regulator Ofgem announced the cap would increase from its current equivalent annual level of £1,277 per year to £1,971; a 54% increase. As a result, road fuel prices in the UK have increased and energy bills may also rise further. The chief Executive of Ofgem said on 24 May that he expected the price cap to increase to around £2,800 in October 2022, an increase of around 40%.

 

Food prices have also risen sharply, with incomes and benefits failing to keep pace. According to the British Retail Consortium, food inflation rose to 4.3% in May 2022, up from 3.5% in April, and has now reached its highest since April 2012. Fresh food has been particularly affected by price rises. The ONS has shown that a study of supermarket prices showed that even staple budget items like pasta rose 50% in the year to April 2022.

 

Alongside price increases, in April 2022, the Government also brought in tax rises, for both income tax and National Insurance contributions (NICs).

 

Council notes:

·      That the Cost-of-Living emergency is a key issue for us as a local authority, against a backdrop of financial factors at national and international level.

·      In these increasingly difficult times, there is a for us as a local authority to ensure advice and appropriate support is available to all residents.

·      The disproportionate impact of the crisis on low-income households, which will spend a larger proportion of their income than average on energy and food and will therefore be more affected by price increases and tax rises that result in reduced disposable income.

·      The work we are currently undertaking as a city council across all departments to support the most vulnerable residents, including:

o   increasing our council housing stock, with over 540 new council homes already completed

o   retrofitting our existing council housing stock to help reduce fuel bills and also supporting fuel-poor homeowners with retrofitting initiatives

o   running a Real Living Wage campaign, paying our own staff a Real Living Wage and encouraging employers across the city to do the same

o   providing an extensive range of community grants to organisations supporting residents

o   addressing the digital divide during the pandemic and beyond

o   building on our strong track record of fighting for food justice, including continuing our support for the city’s network of food hubs

·      That, while many of the economic factors causing the current cost of living crisis are outside of our control as a local authority, it is essential that we focus our efforts on providing the assistance we do have at our disposal to those residents struggling the most.

 

Council resolves to:

·      Ensure that we continue to take a coordinated approach towards addressing the cost-of-living emergency, alongside working with our partners.

·      Set up a dedicated officer working group to address the cost-of-living emergency.

·      Address health and fuel inequalities through our health and heating project, which will employ a multi-layered approach that provides targeted support, working closely with community and voluntary sector partners.

·      Build food justice and address food insecurity by making Cambridge a Right to Food City. This means that we will:

o   Call on national government to enshrine the right to food in law

o   Write to the Secretary of State together with the Food Poverty Alliance asking them to strengthen the National Food Strategy to ensure that it provides support for people struggling to eat in this cost-of-living crisis.

o   Continue our support of the city’s food hubs and commit to working with our communities and members of the Food Poverty Alliance to form a vision of what the Right to Food looks like for Cambridge.

·      Ensure that council decisions are not disproportionately impacting on residents who are struggling the most, through introducing a socio-economic duty and separately considering socio-economic impacts in all our equality impact assessments.

·      Continue campaigning for and championing a real living wage for workers in our city, especially working closely with employers.

·      Commit to working with others to ensure that we can harness both the good will and the wealth in our city to benefit all our residents.

·      Review our small grants programme to make it easier for local groups supporting those struggling to get funding from our community grants.

Councillor Carling proposed and Councillor Collis seconded the following motion: 

 

Context:

Our residents are facing a cost-of-living emergency. According to the Office for National Statistics, 88% of adults in the Great Britain reported an increase in their cost of living in May 2022, due to a range of factors including rising inflation, increases in energy prices and government tax rises.

 

The cost of living has been increasing across the UK since early 2021. in April 2022, inflation reached its highest recorded level, and the ONS estimates that it is now higher than at any time since around 1982, affecting the affordability of goods and services for households. Consumer prices, as measured by the Consumer Prices Index (CPI), were 9.0% higher in April 2022 than a year before. On 5 May, the Bank of England forecasted inflation to peak “at slightly over 10% in 2022 Q4, which would be the highest rate since 1982”. and predicted that it would remain above 9% up to and including Q1 2023.

 

Energy prices are another important driver of inflation , with both household energy tariffs and petrol costs increasing. From April 2021 to April 2022, domestic gas prices increased by 95% and domestic electricity prices by 54%. This is due in part to a return of global gas demand as pandemic restrictions are lifted and lower than normal production of natural gas. On 1 April 2022 the new price cap came into force. The regulator Ofgem announced the cap would increase from its current equivalent annual level of £1,277 per year to £1,971; a 54% increase. As a result, road fuel prices in the UK have increased and energy bills may also rise further. The chief Executive of Ofgem said on 24 May that he expected the price cap to increase to around £2,800 in October 2022, an increase of around 40%.

 

Food prices have also risen sharply, with incomes and benefits failing to keep pace. According to the British Retail Consortium, food inflation rose to 4.3% in May 2022, up from 3.5% in April, and has now reached its highest since April 2012. Fresh food has been particularly affected by price rises. The ONS has shown that a study of supermarket prices showed that even staple budget items like pasta rose 50% in the year to April 2022.

 

Alongside price increases, in April 2022, the Government also brought in tax rises, for both income tax and National Insurance contributions (NICs).

 

Council notes:

·       That the Cost-of-Living emergency is a key issue for us as a local authority, against a backdrop of financial factors at national and international level.

·       In these increasingly difficult times, there is a for us as a local authority to ensure advice and appropriate support is available to all residents.

·       The disproportionate impact of the crisis on low-income households, which will spend a larger proportion of their income than average on energy and food and will therefore be more affected by price increases and tax rises that result in reduced disposable income.

·       The work we are currently undertaking as a city council across all departments to support the most vulnerable residents, including:

o   increasing our council housing stock, with over 540 new council homes already completed

o   retrofitting our existing council housing stock to help reduce fuel bills and also supporting fuel-poor homeowners with retrofitting initiatives

o   running a Real Living Wage campaign, paying our own staff a Real Living Wage and encouraging employers across the city to do the same

o   providing an extensive range of community grants to organisations supporting residents

o   addressing the digital divide during the pandemic and beyond

o   building on our strong track record of fighting for food justice, including continuing our support for the city’s network of food hubs

·       That, while many of the economic factors causing the current cost of living crisis are outside of our control as a local authority, it is essential that we focus our efforts on providing the assistance we do have at our disposal to those residents struggling the most.

 

Council resolves to:

·       Ensure that we continue to take a coordinated approach towards addressing the cost-of-living emergency, alongside working with our partners.

·       Set up a dedicated officer working group to address the cost-of-living emergency.

·       Address health and fuel inequalities through our health and heating project, which will employ a multi-layered approach that provides targeted support, working closely with community and voluntary sector partners.

·       Build food justice and address food insecurity by making Cambridge a Right to Food City. This means that we will:

o   Call on national government to enshrine the right to food in law

o   Write to the Secretary of State together with the Food Poverty Alliance asking them to strengthen the National Food Strategy to ensure that it provides support for people struggling to eat in this cost-of-living crisis.

o   Continue our support of the city’s food hubs and commit to working with our communities and members of the Food Poverty Alliance to form a vision of what the Right to Food looks like for Cambridge.

·       Ensure that council decisions are not disproportionately impacting on residents who are struggling the most, through introducing a socio-economic duty and separately considering socio-economic impacts in all our equality impact assessments.

·       Continue campaigning for and championing a real living wage for workers in our city, especially working closely with employers.

·       Commit to working with others to ensure that we can harness both the good will and the wealth in our city to benefit all our residents.

·       Review our small grants programme to make it easier for local groups supporting those struggling to get funding from our community grants.

Resolved (unanimously) to support the motion.