Households across the UK are facing the highest tax burden in 70 years, and the typical family will see a hit of £1,200 a year through a combination of tax rises and soaring energy prices according to the Resolution Foundation.
This Council notes that families and individuals in our district face a cost-of-living crisis.
Households across the UK are facing the highest tax burden in 70 years, and the typical family will see a hit of £1,200 a year through a combination of tax rises and soaring energy prices according to the Resolution Foundation.
People living in rural areas, like ours, are disproportionately affected by fuel price increases because of the lack of public transport and longer distances to reach work, education and health services.
In April, Ofgem increased the energy price cap by 54 per cent, however there is no price cap on solid fuel bottled gas or heating oil which 5 per cent of Vale residents rely on to heat their homes.
Council thanks our officers for the additional work already being done support residents amid this crisis; including:
- Processing the £150 Council Tax rebates promptly and well before the government’s deadline
- Establishing processes to enable access to the Household Support Fund
- Expanding the support, supplies and signposting available from our Community Hub through the height of COVID and beyond
- Extremely successful homelessness prevention work
- Managing partnership grants with non-for-profit organisations to provide financial and other advice across the district
- Signposting of benefits and other support.
But there is much more to do both nationally and locally. Therefore, Council resolves to ask the Leader and Chief Executive to explore:
- Expanding our Council Tax Reduction Scheme to reduce the tax burden for lower income households
- Ways to protect funding for partnership grants delivering advice services to residents in next year’s budget and future years as far as possible
- Ways to continue and widen the remit of the community hub, which was initially created in response to Covid to support residents and is now acting as a central point for information and support
- Working with partners to improve access to affordable food across our district.
And asks the leader to write to relevant government ministers and our local MPs to ask for urgent action to relieve the cost-of-living crisis through such measures as:
- Provide immediate financial support for consumers of heating oil, Bottled gas, solid fuels, those reliant on generators for electricity and those on prepayment meters.
- Increase Rural Fuel Duty Rate Relief and expand the number of rural areas covered
- Consider reducing VAT to 17.5% putting money back into the pockets of average families, boosting the economy and helping to support local retailers
- Deliver a real and immediate increase in investment in UK renewables and an energy plan for the UK which immediately reduces costs for the end user and leads to the decarbonisation of the UK energy network in the long term.