Agenda item

Inadequate action by national government on the energy crisis, and its failure to levy a sizeable energy company windfall tax, places the burden of spiralling energy costs on residents and businesses. The impacts of these failures and inadequacies will be far-reaching, meaning an extremely difficult winter for many and leaving a sizeable debt to pay off in the future. It will exacerbate the damage to jobs and real incomes caused by Government failure to reduce excessive inflation.

As research by the University of York Social Policy Unit projects, 91% of pensioner couples and 90% of couples with 3 children will find themselves soon spending 10% of their income on energy bills, and researchers’ projections indicate that three quarters of UK households are likely to fall into food poverty by January 2023. 

Cambridge City Council has set out a clear plan at the local level to address fuel poverty across the autumn and winter, including;

-        Securing funding from the Integrated Care Partnership (ICP) for a Heating and Health Project, working with South and East Cambridgeshire District Councils to co-produce local solutions supporting residents who will be at risk of health harms due to the cold and cost of living crisis this winter.

-        establishing a network of cost-of-living advice hubs, where residents will be able to get advice on how to reduce their fuel bills.

-        working with partners across the city to provide warm spaces, for residents who are struggling to heat their homes.

-        issuing cost of living micro grants that groups of residents can apply to for support.

-        Delivering £6.5m of Sustainable Warmth funding across Cambridgeshire to increase the energy efficiency of homes for the most vulnerable.

-        continuing to insulate our council homes, with a further 100 identified for works.

-        Making a £10,000 contribution to the Food Poverty Alliance’s (FPA) Cambridge Cost of Food and Living Crisis crowd-funding campaign

However, council notes that the burden of intervention is falling disproportionately onto local authorities, which are already hit by those same rising energy costs and inflationary pressures. Following on from our March 2022 motion on fuel poverty and July motion on the cost of living, the Council calls for a far stronger plan of action from national government and demands that ministers;

1.   Undertake a mid-year review and uprate benefits for 2022/23 to account for additional in-year non-energy inflation affecting household costs since the annual review, and not renege on their commitment to pensioners and those on benefits in order to help pay for tax cuts to high earners.

2.   Withdraw the selective tax cuts proposed from November apart from the 1p income tax cut, and ensure the tax changes are fair to all.

3.   Apply a further windfall tax on energy producing companies, in addition to the modest tax levied in the summer, in line with the tax asked for by council in its March motion.

4.   Require OFGEM to review and reduce the electricity price formula to give all energy users a fairer deal, by ending their approach of basing it on the most expensive route to generate electricity, which is currently gas.

A copy of the motion will be sent to the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer, and forwarded to our local MPs, asking that they support its proposals and comment in response. 

Councillor Collis proposed and Councillor Carling seconded the following motion: 

Inadequate action by national government on the energy crisis, and its failure to levy a sizeable energy company windfall tax, places the burden of spiralling energy costs on residents and businesses. The impacts of these failures and inadequacies will be far-reaching, meaning an extremely difficult winter for many and leaving a sizeable debt to pay off in the future. It will exacerbate the damage to jobs and real incomes caused by Government failure to reduce excessive inflation.

As research by the University of York Social Policy Unit projects, 91% of pensioner couples and 90% of couples with 3 children will find themselves soon spending 10% of their income on energy bills, and researchers’ projections indicate that three quarters of UK households are likely to fall into food poverty by January 2023. 

Cambridge City Council has set out a clear plan at the local level to address fuel poverty across the autumn and winter, including;

-        Securing funding from the Integrated Care Partnership (ICP) for a Heating and Health Project, working with South and East Cambridgeshire District Councils to co-produce local solutions supporting residents who will be at risk of health harms due to the cold and cost of living crisis this winter.

-        establishing a network of cost-of-living advice hubs, where residents will be able to get advice on how to reduce their fuel bills.

-        working with partners across the city to provide warm spaces, for residents who are struggling to heat their homes.

-        issuing cost of living micro grants that groups of residents can apply to for support.

-        Delivering £6.5m of Sustainable Warmth funding across Cambridgeshire to increase the energy efficiency of homes for the most vulnerable.

-        continuing to insulate our council homes, with a further 100 identified for works.

-        Making a £10,000 contribution to the Food Poverty Alliance’s (FPA) Cambridge Cost of Food and Living Crisis crowd-funding campaign

However, council notes that the burden of intervention is falling disproportionately onto local authorities, which are already hit by those same rising energy costs and inflationary pressures. Following on from our March 2022 motion on fuel poverty and July motion on the cost of living, the Council calls for a far stronger plan of action from national government and demands that ministers;

1.   Undertake a mid-year review and uprate benefits for 2022/23 to account for additional in-year non-energy inflation affecting household costs since the annual review, and not renege on their commitment to pensioners and those on benefits in order to help pay for tax cuts to high earners.

2.   Withdraw the selective tax cuts proposed from November apart from the 1p income tax cut, and ensure the tax changes are fair to all.

3.   Apply a further windfall tax on energy producing companies, in addition to the modest tax levied in the summer, in line with the tax asked for by council in its March motion.

4.   Require OFGEM to review and reduce the electricity price formula to give all energy users a fairer deal, by ending their approach of basing it on the most expensive route to generate electricity, which is currently gas.

A copy of the motion will be sent to the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer, and forwarded to our local MPs, asking that they support its proposals and comment in response. 

Resolved (by 35 votes to 0) to support the motion.