To enable the Council to respond to the cost of living crisis affecting the Borough and its residents caused by the current and predicted high energy costs and rapidly rising inflation impacting on business and residents’ incomes.

Resolved – That the Policy & Resources Committee:

1. recognises the cost of living rise as a crisis for the Borough and that the Authority’s response to assist citizens and businesses in need is declared as a priority in the coming period;

2. authorise the Chief Executive and Directors to:

a.  collate and communicate the services and facilities that the Council can offer residents and businesses and the means by which they may access that support; and

b.  work with community groups and other bodies to co-ordinate and assist, directly and through inclusion within the Cost of Living Action Group, to ensure the best delivery of services and facilities that may provide assistance across the Borough in responding to the cost of living crisis: and

3. incorporate the cost of living crisis as a stand-alone item for the Group Leaders’ (Member Working Group) agenda for the Group Leaders to be briefed upon ongoing issues and liaise with the Cost of Living Action Group and to report back to a future meeting of the Committee the progress being made to support the crisis

4. That the Director of Resources report to the earliest possible meeting of this Committee on:

  i.  a review of all council buildings, including libraries and leisure centres, and provide the additional energy costings to keep them open during the Winter months to provide safe and warm spaces for residents who are struggling with the cost of living crisis;

  ii.  updating the Committee on work with our partners including the NHS, police, fire service, community and faith sector groups, to establish buildings that can be accessed by residents during the winter months to keep them safe and warm;

  iii.  a breakdown of all funding found to be available to community groups currently providing a support to residents in need, with a view to continuing and/or increasing it to ensure that residents are offered support during the cost of living crisis;

  iv.  a review of schemes to support residents such as fuel top ups whether the frequency and value of the support can be increased and the capacity within organisations to deliver additional support to residents to enable as many people as possible to stay warm at home for longer;

  v.  a review of COMF to support the cost of living crisis; 

  vi.  an update on the £113,000 proposed by the Labour Group and agreed at full Council to address fuel poverty;

 vii.  a review of all reserves in light of this crisis and whether any can be used and or re-purposed in support of Wirral’s cost of living crisis.

5.  recognises the Government provided over £200 million to support our residents through the Covid crisis. From the latest tranche funding figures, £673,155 remains uncommitted from a total of £8.5 million. Therefore, Policy and Resources resolves to transfer this uncommitted spend to the Emergency Financial Support Scheme and Discretionary Housing Scheme to support those residents who can demonstrate they have suffered financial hardship as a direct result of Covid, subject to the equivalent amount of funding being released from core budgets.

The economic backdrop has changed considerably over the past few months with higher oil, gas and commodity prices, fears of rising and persistent inflation and its damaging impact on consumers’ cost of living, little indication of an imminent end to Russia-Ukraine hostilities and supply chain bottlenecks exacerbated by war in Ukraine and lockdowns in China. As reported nationally in the media, this is having a significant detrimental impact on funding and income available for residents and their ability afford their day to day bills and expenditure.

There are increasing reports of residents to making choices between heating or eating, being isolated in their homes due to no available money to pay for fuel or electricity and having to prioritise food over other basic but important needs.

The impact of this creates a consequential longer-term impact for residents who may fall into poverty, face eviction from their homes and suffer significant mental and physical detrimental health. This will not only affect the most vulnerable and deprived in the Borough that the Council and its partners would be aware of, but also those who ordinarily would have been able to manage and therefore would not usually have sought support; but are likely to find themselves in more challenging circumstances.

In response to this, the Leader of the Council has requested an extra-ordinary Policy and Resources Committee to understand and evaluate what support is already available and provided by the Council and its Partners to residents of the Borough in such circumstances and what other support could be made available to further support the crisis.

Taking best practice from the outcomes of managing the cross-Borough response to the pandemic, our partners are again seeking the Council to take the Leadership role across the Borough, in coordinating and organising a borough wide response to the crisis. The Council is the organisation best placed to carry out this role across the Borough

Not co-ordinating or leading the Borough’s response to the Cost of Living Crisis across its own services or across other bodies and services available to the Borough. This would not optimise local resources, funding, or support arrangements, leading to a failure in providing the best response available.