Agenda item

This Council is very concerned that at a time when real wages are falling due to high inflation, Rishi Sunak has worsened the Cost-of-Living crisis for many families in Leeds through his decisions to increase National Insurance Contributions and require local authorities to raise Council Tax or face further cuts to local services.

Council welcomes actions taken by this Council to help Leeds residents struggling because of the Chancellor’s actions, including action to increase wages for workers in Leeds, investment to reduce home energy costs for residents, and support for families with children through schools and during school holidays.

Council calls on central Government to follow this Council’s lead and take urgent action to tackle the Cost-of Living crisis and put the economy on a path away from their current high tax/low wage approach and spiralling rents in the private sector that is making the crisis worse for so many people in our city.

It was moved by Councillor Harland, seconded by Councillor Coupar that 

this Council is very concerned that at a time when real wages are falling due to high inflation, Rishi Sunak has worsened the Cost-of-Living crisis for many families in Leeds through his decisions to increase National Insurance Contributions and require local authorities to raise Council Tax or face further cuts to local services.

Council welcomes actions taken by this Council to help Leeds residents struggling because of the Chancellor’s actions, including action to increase wages for workers in Leeds, investment to reduce home energy costs for residents, and support for families with children through schools and during school holidays.

Council calls on central Government to follow this Council’s lead and take urgent action to tackle the Cost-of Living crisis and put the economy on a path away from their current high tax/low wage approach and spiralling rents in the private sector that is making the crisis worse for so many people in our city.

An amendment was moved by Councillor Howley, seconded by Councillor Hart-Brooke

Delete all after “This Council is very concerned that at a time when real wages are falling due to high inflation” and replace with:

Council regrets that the current administration is neglecting those most in need during the developing Cost-of-Living crisis including:

1.  Unnecessarily increasing Council House rents

2.  Continuing to charge a DIY tax for inert waste at recycling centres

3.  Failing to improve the failing and expensive public transport system that residents are so dependent on.

The amended White Paper will then read:

This Council is very concerned that at a time when real wages are falling due to high inflation, Council regrets that the current administration is neglecting those most in need during the developing Cost-of-Living crisis including:

1.  Unnecessarily increasing Council House rents

2.  Continuing to charge a DIY tax for inert waste at recycling centre

3.  Failing to improve the failing and expensive public transport system that residents are so dependent on.

A second amendment was moved by Councillor Lamb, seconded by Councillor Stephenson

Delete all after “This Council” and replace with the following:

“notes the range of global factors affecting the cost of living for households nationally and in Leeds and welcomes the actions being taken by the government in response.

“Council welcomes government action that will see a £150 non-repayable reduction in Council Tax bills for all households in Bands A-D in England.

“Council welcomes the unprecedented levels of support provided by the government through the pandemic. In addition, measures announced by the government in the Autumn Budget will help vulnerable households, such as increasing the National Living Wage to £9.50 an hour this April and fuel duty being frozen for the twelfth year in a row.

“In addition Council welcomes the following government support:

·  Holiday Activities and Food programme, worth up to £220m, providing activities and healthy meals to children over the school holidays;

·  £140 million in Discretionary Housing Payments supporting families with rent or housing costs, and an extra £65m to support low-income households with rent debts;

·  Increased generosity of the Local Housing Allowance for housing benefit, with more than 1.5m households benefiting from an additional £600 a year.

“Council recognises that more action may be necessary from the government to address cost of living concerns, however this Council will not take lessons on reducing the financial burden on Leeds’ residents from an administration that took its own local decision to increase council tax this year.”

The amendments in the name of Councillor Howley and Councillor Lamb were declared lost and upon being put to the vote it was

RESOLVED – That this Council is very concerned that at a time when real wages are falling due to high inflation, Rishi Sunak has worsened the Cost-of-Living crisis for many families in Leeds through his decisions to increase National Insurance Contributions and require local authorities to raise Council Tax or face further cuts to local services.

Council welcomes actions taken by this Council to help Leeds residents struggling because of the Chancellor’s actions, including action to increase wages for workers in Leeds, investment to reduce home energy costs for residents, and support for families with children through schools and during school holidays.

Council calls on central Government to follow this Council’s lead and take urgent action to tackle the Cost-of Living crisis and put the economy on a path away from their current high tax/low wage approach and spiralling rents in the private sector that is making the crisis worse for so many people in our city.

On the requisition of Councillor Lennox and Pryor the voting on the motion was recorded as follows;

YES – 48

Akhtar, Almass, Arif, Brooks, Burke, Carlill, Charlwood, Coupar, Cunningham, Dowson, Dye, Flint, Garthwaite, Gibson, Goddard, P Grahame, R Grahame, Groves, C Gruen, Hamilton, Harland, Hayden, Heselwood, A Hussain, Z Hussain, Illingworth, Iqbal, Jenkins, Lennox, Lewis, Marshall-Katung, McKenna, Midgley, Mulherin, Nash, Pryor, Rafique, Ragan, Renshaw, Ritchie, Scopes, Shahzad, Sharpe, E Taylor, Truswell, Venner, Walshaw and Wray.

NO – 20

Alderson, B Anderson, C Anderson, Buckley, Amanda Carter, Andrew Carter Cohen, Firth, Flynn, Foster, Harrington, Lamb, G Latty, Richards, Robinson, D Seary, S Seary, Smith, Stephenson and Wadsworth,

ABSTAIN – 13

A Blackburn, Forsaith, Finnigan, Bentley, Chapman, Downes, Golton, Hart-Brooke, Howley, Lay, Dobson, Field and McCormack