Agenda item

10.1

It was formally moved by Councillor Karen McGowan, and formally seconded by Councillor Ben Miskell, that this Council:-

(a)      believes that we are facing a cost-of-living crisis, with rising bills and ballooning prices;

(b)      notes that we have seen a decade of low growth under Conservative-led governments, and believes that this is holding back Britain and has left the national economy weakened and unable to deal with shocks;

(c)      notes that this is particularly felt in northern cities like Sheffield, leaving many of the city’s residents acutely vulnerable to a worrying combination of factors – such as inflation, rocketing energy bills, increased costs for food and fuel, and the forthcoming rise to national insurance;

(d)      notes that eligibility for Free School Meal Vouchers in Sheffield is increasing, indicating that poverty in the city is increasing, and Council Hardship funds are coming under increased pressure;

(e)      notes that a Labour government would immediately cut VAT on domestic energy bills to ease the burden on households during winter – giving a potential saving of up to £400 for many Sheffield residents – which would be paid for by a one-off windfall tax on booming oil and gas profits;

(f)       believes that we need radical long-term change to keep energy bills low in the future, and yet this Government have consistently failed to keep in check rising energy bills and have a very poor record on insulating homes and improving energy efficiency; and

(g)      believes the Government should get a grip and tackle this crisis – but instead they continue to sit back complacently; trapping us in a high-tax, low-growth economy, and rather than putting the interests of the country first they are consumed with infighting and, as such, are failing to take the decisive action needed.

10.2

Whereupon, it was formally moved by Councillor Mike Levery, and formally seconded by Councillor Joe Otten, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by:-

1.       the deletion of original paragraphs (b), (e), (f) and (g), and the re-lettering of original paragraphs (c) and (d) as new paragraphs (b) and (c); and

2.       the addition of new paragraphs (d) to (j) as follows:-

(d)      notes that the Liberal Democrats were the first to propose immediate action on domestic energy bills to ease the burden on households during winter – doubling the Warm Homes discount for the vulnerable and doubling the Winter Fuel Allowance for pensioners – which would be paid for by a one-off windfall tax on oil and gas profits;

(e)      notes there has been no development of a long-term energy strategy to secure network resilience by successive governments since privatisation; the dash for gas in the 1990’s led to significant investment in gas-fired power stations to replace coal, fossil fuel for fossil fuel, and no strategy for replacing ageing nuclear reactors;

(f)       believes this Government needs to abandon the current competitive market on energy provision, which is based on relatively stable wholesale prices, and replace it with a regulated provision which ensures providers are sufficiently resilient to withstand wholesale price shocks, whilst maintaining customer prices index linked over an agreed period;

(g)      notes the significant rise in food prices and shortages on the supermarket shelves, leading to greater reliance by the poorest on food banks, and believes that the main contributory factors are:-

(i)       the second increase in January of customs declaration paperwork and increasing transport costs for foreign sourced foods, both of which lead to rising food prices;

(ii)       the shortage of foreign workers in both the farming sector and food processing sector, leading to shortages and the inevitable price rises;

(iii)      new trade deals where they are not back to back with previous EU trade deals, such as with Australia and New Zealand, where tariff free beef and lamb are now impacting on the British market and putting farmers’ livelihoods at risk;

(iv)      the new trade deal with Norway on fish, which has resulted in a quota reduction of 50% for the Kirkella in Hull, the last deep sea fishing trawler in the UK; and

(v)      weakness of the pound since the Brexit referendum, and the negative impact on imported food prices;

(h)      notes the failure to resolve the Northern Ireland protocol, as shown by the resignation of Lord Frost, who failed to renegotiate the Brexit deal, and believes that any trade deal without a customs union will always lead to these problems, when the Good Friday Agreement needs to be protected;

(i)       notes the victories by the Liberal Democrats in by-elections in Chesham and Amersham, where the voters rejected building in the Green Belt, and North Shropshire where livestock farming is under threat, and believes this is showing more and more that the British public have had enough of this Government’s failure to get a hold of the issues people have to face every day; and

(j)       believes the Government’s “oven ready” deal is now unfolding and has led to rising food prices, and that it should revisit its failing Brexit strategy in order to protect our farmers, fishermen and the general public.

10.3

It was then formally moved by Councillor Bernard Little, and formally seconded by Councillor Paul Turpin, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by:-

1.       the deletion of paragraph (b) and the addition of new paragraphs (b) to (h) as follows:-

(b)      believes that growth in GDP, as a measure of economic success, has created a fragile economy wide open to shocks and has failed us, in that, wealth and political power is now cascading upwards to the already super-rich;

(c)      believes that an economy based purely on economic growth is the cause of inequality rather than the cure and an Inclusive Economy - that prioritises local businesses - is one that everyone can benefit from and is the best way to address poverty and inequality through economic policy; using metrics such as healthy life expectancy and income inequality are better for society as a whole than the GDP based growth favoured by those who would see the rich get richer and the poor get poorer;

(d)      believes that growth in green industries, green spaces, leisure and hospitality, and arts and culture are things that will enrich lives and wellbeing without causing further inequality and environmental damage;

(e)      asserts that Sheffield City Council should adopt a fabric first approach to retrofitting insulation which will increase energy resilience from volatile global energy markets and reduce fuel poverty;

(f)       asserts that Sheffield City Council should stop the installation of new gas heating systems in council housing which will increase energy resilience from volatile global energy markets and reduce fuel poverty for tenants;

(g)      believes that one off payments from government grants to cover energy bills is a subsidy to the fossil fuel industry and while it is an essential sticking plaster for those facing a cost of living crisis, more needs to be done to tackle the long term problems caused by reliance on fossil fuels;

(h)      believes that the business-as-usual economic path we are on is a political choice: that an economy that puts the health and well-being of both people and the planet at its heart is best placed to drive Sheffield’s commitment to addressing inequality, the nature emergency and becoming a leading zero-carbon city by 2030;

2.       the deletion of original paragraph (e);

3.       the re-lettering of original paragraphs (c) and (d) as new paragraphs (i) and (j), and original paragraphs (f) and (g) as new paragraphs (k) and (l); and

4.       the addition of new paragraphs (m) to (o) as follows:-

(m)     believes that the City Council's response to the cost of living crisis should not be to simply say "This is bad'' but to formulate an action plan to address it;

(n)      therefore requests that the Food Poverty Working Group be reinstated and its remit expanded to cover all elements of rising living costs and to formulate an action plan to tackle this crisis; and

(o)      requests that the Education, Health and Care Transitional Committee, and its successor under the committee system, should look into how Sheffield Council and Sheffield can support our ambition for an Inclusive Economy in the One Year Plan with the wellbeing economy model, and in order to put Sheffield's health and well-being front and centre of our aims, decision making and expenditure.

10.4

The amendment moved by Councillor Mike Levery was put to the vote and Parts 1 & paragraph (d) of Part 2 of the amendment were negatived and paragraphs (e) to (j) of Part 2 of the amendment were carried.

10.5

The amendment moved by Councillor Bernard Little was then put to the vote and Parts 1, 2, 3 & paragraph (m) of Part 4 of the amendment were negatived and paragraphs (n) & (o) of Part 4 of the amendment were carried.

10.6

The original Motion, as amended, was then put as a Substantive Motion in the following form and carried:-

RESOLVED: That this Council:-

(a)      believes that we are facing a cost-of-living crisis, with rising bills and ballooning prices;

(b)      notes that we have seen a decade of low growth under Conservative-led governments, and believes that this is holding back Britain and has left the national economy weakened and unable to deal with shocks;

(c)      notes that this is particularly felt in northern cities like Sheffield, leaving many of the city’s residents acutely vulnerable to a worrying combination of factors – such as inflation, rocketing energy bills, increased costs for food and fuel, and the forthcoming rise to national insurance;

(d)      notes that eligibility for Free School Meal Vouchers in Sheffield is increasing, indicating that poverty in the city is increasing, and Council Hardship funds are coming under increased pressure;

(e)      notes that a Labour government would immediately cut VAT on domestic energy bills to ease the burden on households during winter – giving a potential saving of up to £400 for many Sheffield residents – which would be paid for by a one-off windfall tax on booming oil and gas profits;

(f)       believes that we need radical long-term change to keep energy bills low in the future, and yet this Government have consistently failed to keep in check rising energy bills and have a very poor record on insulating homes and improving energy efficiency;

(g)      believes the Government should get a grip and tackle this crisis – but instead they continue to sit back complacently; trapping us in a high-tax, low-growth economy, and rather than putting the interests of the country first they are consumed with infighting and, as such, are failing to take the decisive action needed;

(h)      notes there has been no development of a long-term energy strategy to secure network resilience by successive governments since privatisation; the dash for gas in the 1990’s led to significant investment in gas-fired power stations to replace coal, fossil fuel for fossil fuel, and no strategy for replacing ageing nuclear reactors;

(i)       believes this Government needs to abandon the current competitive market on energy provision, which is based on relatively stable wholesale prices, and replace it with a regulated provision which ensures providers are sufficiently resilient to withstand wholesale price shocks, whilst maintaining customer prices index linked over an agreed period;

(j)       notes the significant rise in food prices and shortages on the supermarket shelves, leading to greater reliance by the poorest on food banks, and believes that the main contributory factors are:-

(i)       the second increase in January of customs declaration paperwork and increasing transport costs for foreign sourced foods, both of which lead to rising food prices;

(ii)       the shortage of foreign workers in both the farming sector and food processing sector, leading to shortages and the inevitable price rises;

(iii)      new trade deals where they are not back to back with previous EU trade deals, such as with Australia and New Zealand, where tariff free beef and lamb are now impacting on the British market and putting farmers’ livelihoods at risk;

(iv)      the new trade deal with Norway on fish, which has resulted in a quota reduction of 50% for the Kirkella in Hull, the last deep sea fishing trawler in the UK; and

(v)      weakness of the pound since the Brexit referendum, and the negative impact on imported food prices;

(k)      notes the failure to resolve the Northern Ireland protocol, as shown by the resignation of Lord Frost, who failed to renegotiate the Brexit deal, and believes that any trade deal without a customs union will always lead to these problems, when the Good Friday Agreement needs to be protected;

(l)       notes the victories by the Liberal Democrats in by-elections in Chesham and Amersham, where the voters rejected building in the Green Belt, and North Shropshire where livestock farming is under threat, and believes this is showing more and more that the British public have had enough of this Government’s failure to get a hold of the issues people have to face every day;

(m)     believes the Government’s “oven ready” deal is now unfolding and has led to rising food prices, and that it should revisit its failing Brexit strategy in order to protect our farmers, fishermen and the general public;

(n)      therefore requests that the Food Poverty Working Group be reinstated and its remit expanded to cover all elements of rising living costs and to formulate an action plan to tackle this crisis; and

(o)      requests that the Education, Health and Care Transitional Committee, and its successor under the committee system, should look into how Sheffield Council and Sheffield can support our ambition for an Inclusive Economy in the One Year Plan with the wellbeing economy model, and in order to put Sheffield's health and well-being front and centre of our aims, decision making and expenditure.

10.6.1

(NOTE: 1. Councillors Simon Clement-Jones, Richard Shaw, Bob McCann, Ann Woolhouse, Mohammed Mahroof, Joe Otten, Colin Ross, Martin Smith, Vic Bowden, Alan Woodcock, Roger Davison, Barbara Masters, Shaffaq Mohammed, Sue Alston, Andrew Sangar, Cliff Woodcraft, Ian Auckland, Sue Auckland, Steve Ayris, Kevin Oxley, Penny Baker, Vickie Priestley, Richard Williams, Alan Hooper, Mike Levery and Ann Whitaker voted for paragraphs (a), (c), (d) and (h) to (m), voted against paragraphs (n) and (o), and abstained from voting on paragraphs (b), (e), (f) and (g), of the Substantive Motion, and asked for this to be recorded.

2. Councillors Angela Argenzio, Brian Holmshaw, Kaltum Rivers, Douglas Johnson, Ruth Mersereau, Martin Phipps, Alexi Dimond, Paul Turpin, Christine Gilligan, Peter Garbutt, Alison Teal and Bernard Little voted for paragraphs (a), (c), (d) and (f) to (o), and voted against paragraphs (b) and (e) of the Substantive Motion, and asked for this to be recorded.)