Councillor Jeff Green moved and Councillor Lesley Rennie seconded the following motion submitted in accordance with Standing Order 13:

‘Council acknowledges the unprecedented support provided by Government to the residents and businesses of Wirral throughout the Covid pandemic.

So far, the Council has received more than £206.4 million in direct Covid funding support from the Government, on top of the Council’s base budget of £304.7 million, set in March 2020.

Council notes that, of this £206.4 million from the Government:

·  £128.9 million was to support businesses in the form of non-discretionary and discretionary grants, business rates relief and business district improvement funding

·  £39.4 million was for the Council to manage the delivery of services and alleviate pressures resulting from the Coronavirus pandemic

·  £10 million was to help prevent the spread of Covid infection in Care Homes

·  £8.6 million was for Test, Trace and Outbreak Management support

·  £7.5 million was to replace lost Council income

·  £3.9 million was for Council Tax Hardship support

·  £2.1 million was for Community Testing

·  £1.3 million was for homelessness support to ensure ‘Everybody In’

·  £1.2 million was for supporting our most vulnerable families with food and power via the Covid Winter Grant Scheme

·  £0.9 million was for increasing workforce capacity in Care Homes

·  £0.5 million was to support Clinically Extremely Vulnerable residents

·  £0.5 million was for emergency food and supplies

·  £0.4 million was for Test & Trace £500 Payment Support Payment Scheme

·  £0.3 million was for re-opening our High Streets safely

·  £0.3 million was for new burdens relief

·  £0.2 million was for ensuring Covid compliance

In addition, the Council has requested and received exceptional financial support (capitalisation directive) by the Government whereby a further £24 million of funding can be realised.

Government has continued to demonstrate it is committed to levelling-up Wirral, with £28.2 million awarded to Wirral as part of the Future High Streets Funding programme and the announcement of Freeport status for the Wirral dockland areas as part of the LCR bid.

Council further notes that:

·  139,000 Wirral jobs were protected through the Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme

·  £62.3 million was distributed to Wirral residents via the Government’s Self Employment Income Support Scheme

·  £209.9 million has been loaned to Wirral businesses via the Government Business Interruption and Bounce Back Loan schemes

Council believes it is right that all political parties recognise the Government’s ongoing support for Wirral and work together to ensure the future prosperity of our residents.

Council therefore, on behalf of Wirral residents and businesses, thanks the Government for the unprecedented and necessary level of support and requests the Chief Executive and political Group Leaders write to the Government thanking them for their support so far and committing  to working together, constructively, with the Government for the prosperity of Wirral’s residents and our current and future businesses.’

Councillor Janette Williamson moved and Councillor Karl Greaney seconded the following amendment, submitted in accordance with Standing Order 13.3:

‘Delete the first two paragraphs and replace with:

Council has received more than £206.4 million in direct Covid funding from Government

Delete the last two paragraphs and replace with:

Council notes that whilst the Chancellor in his recent Budget extended the Self Employed Income Support Scheme, Excluded UK have said that there are at least three million taxpayers and households who have been affected by loss of income due to Covid-19, and the further support announced does not account for the decimation of businesses and income from the last year, and for many now included, this is too little too late.

The following letter has been sent to Rishi Sunak and signed by the co-founders of Excluded UK, cross party MPs, Sir John Bird, academics and business leaders.

“Dear Chancellor,

We are writing to you from ExcludedUK with collective support from a wide range of organisations and many individuals with regard to gaps in the government Covid-19 support scheme affecting some three million UK taxpayers.

While many have received vital support since the onset of the pandemic, so many others have been left behind. The three million figure, now so often referred to, comes from HMRC data and BEIS Business Population Estimates and has been confirmed by figures released by the National Audit Office. It is not just the 1.5 million self-employed that you have previously referred to. Standard Life Foundation’s latest survey estimated that as many as 3.8 million are in fact affected.

The impacts are far-reaching and only set to become more acute, with ever-increasing financial hardship as each month passes and spiralling debt that has already devastated people’s livelihoods and businesses and will continue to do so for years to come without the support so vitally needed. These impacts equally extend to households – children and families, and for small business owners, their employees, freelancers and contractors too if their own businesses are in peril.

This is a substantial section of the workforce and they need support to get through this crisis – people who were furthering their careers by starting a new job, those in between jobs, those who for whatever reason were denied furlough, those who took the plunge to set up a new business, those with entrepreneurial spirit serving their communities and beyond, freelancers, those combining PAYE and self-employment, those whose maternity or parental leave fell at a certain time, people excluded due to pensions, bereavement payments, carers’ allowance, redundancy, shielding and more.

These are people who are the lifeblood of our economy and communities, many who have been taxpayers for years and not previously had to rely on the State, and businesses that are viable. Moreover, people are facing the crisis among so much uncertainty that still lies ahead, particularly for those in the hardest hit sectors.

Various proposals have been presented to the Treasury that are not complex and do guard against fraud. We urge you to consider these and include measures in the upcoming Budget that will provide the much-needed financial support for those who find themselves outside of the scope of the eligibility criteria of the existing schemes. Not helping these people is equally at odds with economic recovery.

Providing this support now is the right and fair thing to do.”

Council wishes to acknowledge to Government on behalf of many local businesses and residents that the money provided by government has been important to their survival and is grateful to all staff involved in the speedy and efficient administration of government Covid funding, however that large numbers of people have been excluded from such assistance.

Council further notes that Government told us to ‘do whatever it takes’ but in fact only reimbursed us for 75p out of every 95p in loss of income as a result of Covid. Council notes that this has resulted in a shortfall of £6.944m in funding, which forced us to request a Capitalisation Directive. Council notes that the mishandling of successive lockdowns, the PPE scandal which left our care homes vulnerable, and councils struggling to keep up with ever-changing guidance at a time where their resources were already depleted. The National Audit Office has recently noted that 10 years of austerity has made local authority finances structurally fragile. It said “funding reductions …means that authorities’ finances were potentially more vulnerable to the impact of the pandemic”. It urges the Government to draw up a long-term plan for councils to help them recover from the ‘financial scarring’ caused by the pandemic.

Council requests that the Chief Executive and political Group Leaders write to the Government with the above letter which will help ensure more Wirral residents and businesses are supported financially and that Government put local authority finances on a long-term sustainable footing.’

Having applied the guillotine in accordance with Standing Order 9.1, the Council did not debate this matter.

The amendment was put and carried (40:20) (One abstention).

The substantive motion, as amended, was then put, and it was –

Resolved (40:20) (One abstention) –

Council has received more than £206.4 million in direct Covid funding from Government

Council notes that, of this £206.4 million from the Government:

·  £128.9 million was to support businesses in the form of non-discretionary and discretionary grants, business rates relief and business district improvement funding

·  £39.4 million was for the Council to manage the delivery of services and alleviate pressures resulting from the Coronavirus pandemic

·  £10 million was to help prevent the spread of Covid infection in Care Homes

·  £8.6 million was for Test, Trace and Outbreak Management support

·  £7.5 million was to replace lost Council income

·  £3.9 million was for Council Tax Hardship support

·  £2.1 million was for Community Testing

·  £1.3 million was for homelessness support to ensure ‘Everybody In’

·  £1.2 million was for supporting our most vulnerable families with food and power via the Covid Winter Grant Scheme

·  £0.9 million was for increasing workforce capacity in Care Homes

·  £0.5 million was to support Clinically Extremely Vulnerable residents

·  £0.5 million was for emergency food and supplies

·  £0.4 million was for Test & Trace £500 Payment Support Payment Scheme

·  £0.3 million was for re-opening our High Streets safely

·  £0.3 million was for new burdens relief

·  £0.2 million was for ensuring Covid compliance

In addition, the Council has requested and received exceptional financial support (capitalisation directive) by the Government whereby a further £24 million of funding can be realised.

Government has continued to demonstrate it is committed to levelling-up Wirral, with £28.2 million awarded to Wirral as part of the Future High Streets Funding programme and the announcement of Freeport status for the Wirral dockland areas as part of the LCR bid.

Council further notes that:

·  139,000 Wirral jobs were protected through the Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme

·  £62.3 million was distributed to Wirral residents via the Government’s Self Employment Income Support Scheme

·  £209.9 million has been loaned to Wirral businesses via the Government Business Interruption and Bounce Back Loan schemes

Council notes that whilst the Chancellor in his recent Budget extended the Self Employed Income Support Scheme, Excluded UK have said that there are at least three million taxpayers and households who have been affected by loss of income due to Covid-19, and the further support announced does not account for the decimation of businesses and income from the last year, and for many now included, this is too little too late.

The following letter has been sent to Rishi Sunak and signed by the co-founders of Excluded UK, cross party MPs, Sir John Bird, academics and business leaders.

“Dear Chancellor,

We are writing to you from ExcludedUK with collective support from a wide range of organisations and many individuals with regard to gaps in the government Covid-19 support scheme affecting some three million UK taxpayers.

While many have received vital support since the onset of the pandemic, so many others have been left behind. The three million figure, now so often referred to, comes from HMRC data and BEIS Business Population Estimates and has been confirmed by figures released by the National Audit Office. It is not just the 1.5 million self-employed that you have previously referred to. Standard Life Foundation’s latest survey estimated that as many as 3.8 million are in fact affected.

The impacts are far-reaching and only set to become more acute, with ever-increasing financial hardship as each month passes and spiralling debt that has already devastated people’s livelihoods and businesses and will continue to do so for years to come without the support so vitally needed. These impacts equally extend to households – children and families, and for small business owners, their employees, freelancers and contractors too if their own businesses are in peril.

This is a substantial section of the workforce and they need support to get through this crisis – people who were furthering their careers by starting a new job, those in between jobs, those who for whatever reason were denied furlough, those who took the plunge to set up a new business, those with entrepreneurial spirit serving their communities and beyond, freelancers, those combining PAYE and self-employment, those whose maternity or parental leave fell at a certain time, people excluded due to pensions, bereavement payments, carers’ allowance, redundancy, shielding and more.

These are people who are the lifeblood of our economy and communities, many who have been taxpayers for years and not previously had to rely on the State, and businesses that are viable. Moreover, people are facing the crisis among so much uncertainty that still lies ahead, particularly for those in the hardest hit sectors.

Various proposals have been presented to the Treasury that are not complex and do guard against fraud. We urge you to consider these and include measures in the upcoming Budget that will provide the much-needed financial support for those who find themselves outside of the scope of the eligibility criteria of the existing schemes. Not helping these people is equally at odds with economic recovery.

Providing this support now is the right and fair thing to do.”

Council wishes to acknowledge to Government on behalf of many local businesses and residents that the money provided by government has been important to their survival and is grateful to all staff involved in the speedy and efficient administration of government Covid funding, however that large numbers of people have been excluded from such assistance.

Council further notes that Government told us to ‘do whatever it takes’ but in fact only reimbursed us for 75p out of every 95p in loss of income as a result of Covid. Council notes that this has resulted in a shortfall of £6.944m in funding, which forced us to request a Capitalisation Directive. Council notes that the mishandling of successive lockdowns, the PPE scandal which left our care homes vulnerable, and councils struggling to keep up with ever-changing guidance at a time where their resources were already depleted. The National Audit Office has recently noted that 10 years of austerity has made local authority finances structurally fragile. It said “funding reductions …means that authorities’ finances were potentially more vulnerable to the impact of the pandemic”. It urges the Government to draw up a long-term plan for councils to help them recover from the ‘financial scarring’ caused by the pandemic.

Council requests that the Chief Executive and political Group Leaders write to the Government with the above letter which will help ensure more Wirral residents and businesses are supported financially and that Government put local authority finances on a long-term sustainable footing.