Agenda item

8.1

It was formally moved by Councillor Angela Argenzio, and seconded by Councillor Marieanne Elliot -

That this Council believes:-

(a)      that thanks are due to the people of Sheffield who took part in democracy and voted in recent local elections to choose who will represent them;

(b)      that thanks are also due to those who voted in the May 2021 referendum which established a new, modern committee system that needs political groups to work together in a more collaborative and less adversarial way of working;

(c)      that the Council and the communities we represent face the multiple challenges of the cost of living crisis, overstretched and underfunded Council services and a growing demand for those services from the public;

(d)      that new initiatives, detailed below, are needed and we call on all groups on the Council to support them;

(e)      that people’s experience of engaging with the Council is not always positive and poor access to services has a worse impact on people already disadvantaged for other reasons; people experience difficulties engaging with the Council and in getting responses to local concerns and issues;

(f)       that local Councillors are often the ones most aware when the Council's processes are not working because local people contact them when the system doesn’t work;

(g)      that due to the cost of living crisis our services will be in even higher demand and need, and making them more accessible must be prioritised in light of this;

(h)      that the challenge for this Council, like other councils around the country, is to play a leading role locally in addressing the cost of living crisis that our communities face;

(i)       that the cost of living crisis is caused by a combination of corporate greed, rising prices, low incomes and policy choices made by national governments, condemning millions to increasing levels of poverty which disproportionately affects women, children, disabled people and members of marginalised and minority communities;

(j)       that we must seek to address both immediate need and also make our communities resilient to future crises through a combination of measures, such as retrofitting homes to high energy efficiency standards to reduce energy usage, and provision of skills and training;

(k)      that whilst all councils operate a Corporate Risk Register, where all the risks the Council faces are detailed and a risk management plan is produced to mitigate those risks, this approach can mean that councils focus on risks rather than opportunities;

(l)       that the Council’s financial sustainability now depends on funding opportunities, not further cuts;

(m)     that to act as a balance to the Corporate Risk Register, there should be a Corporate Opportunities Register, detailing new funding opportunities, partnership opportunities and initiatives that will help deliver the Council's objectives, such as supporting those affected by the cost of living crisis;

This Council resolves:-

(n)      to recommend that the Council’s Strategy and Resources Policy Committee notes this Motion and requests a Customer Service Improvement Plan to be in place within 4 months, to show how it will aim to improve response times and accessibility to services, regardless of the community that customers come from or their background, language or disability; and recognising that the Council’s services also need to be available to people without access to the phone or internet;

(o)      to recommend that the Strategy and Resources Policy Committee establishes a Cost of Living Crisis Working Group, together with other public and voluntary sector partners, to be tasked with producing a Cost of Living Crisis Action Plan within 4 months;

(p)      that progress on the delivery of this action plan be reported regularly to the Strategy and Resources Policy Committee; and

(q)      to recommend that the Strategy and Resources Policy Committee requests a Corporate Opportunities Register to be in place within 6 months, kept up-to-date by Executive Directors and reported regularly to the relevant committee, noting this motion.

8.2

Whereupon, it was formally moved by Councillor Abdul Khayum, and formally seconded by Councillor Jayne Dunn, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by the addition of new paragraphs (r) to (gg) as follows:-

This Council:-

(r)       believes that there can be no doubt that we are in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis, with surges in fuel, energy and food prices and with inflation running at a 30-year high;

(s)      believes that the cost of living crisis is the single biggest issue, and most immediate concern, for most people across the UK;

(t)       notes that, whilst global shocks and the war in Ukraine have of course had an impact, a decade of low growth under Conservative-led governments has left the economy weakened and unable to deal with shocks;

(u)      believes the Government’s response has been woeful and further highlights how out of touch they are, and that rather than getting to grips with the serious issues facing our country they instead are preoccupied with waging unnecessary culture wars;

(v)      believes there is much the Government needs to be doing, and one need only look to governments across Europe to see what can be done to help households against a sharp rise in energy bills, and yet here in the UK the Government’s spring statement offered nothing to those who really need it;

(w)      believes, therefore, that the Government should take heed of the Labour Party’s call for an emergency budget and supports the following activity:-

(i)       a windfall tax on the profits of oil and gas companies, which would save household bills by up to £600 (helping mitigate the Government’s National Insurance rise);

(ii)       a discount on business rates for small and medium sized businesses;

(iii)      a "rapid ramp-up" of installing insulation into homes across the country to save on energy bills;

(iv)      an investigation by the National Crime Agency into taxpayer money lost through fraud; and

(v)      reversing the £20 per week cut to Universal Credit;

(x)      believes that whilst the Government is spectacularly failing to help families, members of the previous Council administration have, over the course of the last year, been working to ensure the Council is doing everything it can to support residents through the cost of living crisis;

(y)      notes that at an organisational level, Sheffield City Council are treating the cost of living crisis with the same resolve as it did for the pandemic;

(z)      notes that, just like in the pandemic, the Leader of the Council established a Gold Command Executive Management Team, and is ensuring that every effort is being made to review what the Council is doing in response to the difficulties facing our communities;

(aa)    notes that Sheffield City Council and partners have put together a Sheffield Money Support website to provide a single point of access for residents;

(bb)    believes that our Council should act as a point of call for those in need, and reaffirms support for the forthcoming rollout of a Financial Support Access Plan – so Sheffielders can be best advised where to go for the right financial support, suited to their circumstances;

(cc)     notes that due to the approval of the budget amendment proposed by the Labour Group in March 2022, which secured £3.5 million for sustainable local energy, the Council is increasing ways to get energy bills down, through installing renewable energy on our estate; such as schools, libraries, community centres and council homes;

(dd)    notes that under the previous Administration’s Housing Revenue Account, the Council is retrofitting 6,000 homes with new roofs, and 2,000 homes will benefit from boiler replacements, as well as ensuring that all council homes are to at least EPC C (Energy Performance Level C) – making homes warmer and reducing bills;

(ee)    further notes that the approved amendment to the budget, proposed by the Labour Group, put extra resources into supporting neighbourhoods, and focused extra support on those who will be the most hardest hit, including further support for the Food Access Plan;

(ff)      believes that this resolve to tackle this crisis must carry on throughout the new committee system, and calls on every Policy Committee to ensure that the cost of living crisis is a key priority in their work plans, and that all financial decisions must consider what impact they will be having on the crisis; and

(gg)    notes that the Leader of the Council has already begun convening a strategic conversation with partners and stakeholders (including the voluntary and community sector, public sector partners, utility companies and MPs) to maximise our collective effort around responding to the crisis.

8.3

It was then formally moved by Councillor Mike Levery, and formally seconded by Councillor Joe Otten, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by the deletion of paragraphs (d) to (q) and the addition of new paragraphs (d) to (k) as follows:-

(d)      believes that the Council must be committed, both politically and organisationally, to delivering the savings needed for long term financial sustainability, and that the use of one-off reserves to balance the 2022/23 budget is only a short-term solution;

(e)      furthermore, believes that the underlying imbalance between spending and income must be addressed;

(f)       consequently, believes that the Council must continue to investigate and implement service re-designs and transformations to reduce the underlying gap in its budgets for 2023/24 onwards;

(g)      believes that by taking £20 million out of reserves last year and already having an overspend of £18 million this year, this Council faces the very real prospect of impending financial failure;

(h)      welcomes the recognition in the “Our Sheffield: The Year Ahead” plan, considered by the Strategy and Resources Policy Committee yesterday, of the weak performance of a number of council services and the ambition to put these services back on track;

(i)       believes that the causes of the cost of living crisis include:-

(i)       various global supply chain problems with various causes;

(ii)       labour market changes resulting from the pandemic;

(iii)      weak economic growth and a weak pound following the Brexit referendum;

(iv)      Government Brexit policies that have created barriers to trade with our trading partners, including additional red tape and delays in the movement of goods;

(v)      the war in Ukraine affecting energy and grain supplies;

(vi)      low investment in fossil fuel extraction since the price low of 2017, without sufficient investment in nuclear and renewables to compensate;

(vii)     an energy price cap system that rolls the costs of failed energy intermediaries into the standing charge, hitting the poorest the hardest; and

(viii)    a lack of government action on cost of living;

(j)       welcomes the establishment by the Strategy and Resources Policy Committee of a cost of living Gold Command and resolves to support the work of that Command, bringing in partners, and seeking innovative ways to help the people of Sheffield get through this crisis; and

(k)      believes the Housing Policy Committee should work quickly to advance the retrofitting of homes to high energy efficiency standards, to bring long term benefits around the cost of heating a home to a large number of Sheffield residents.

8.4

The amendment moved by Councillor Abdul Khayum was put to the vote and was carried.

8.4.1

(NOTE: The result of the vote was FOR - 48 Members; AGAINST - 1 Member; ABSTENTIONS – 26 Members.  The Green Group members voted for, but against paragraphs (t) & (z) of the amendment.)

8.5

The amendment moved by Councillor Mike Levery was then put to the vote and was lost, except for paragraphs (d), (e), (f), (h), (j) & (k), which were carried as additional paragraphs to be added to the Substantive Motion.

8.5.1

(NOTE: The result of the vote was FOR - 26 Members; AGAINST - 47 Member; ABSTENTIONS – 0 Members.  The Labour Group members voted against, but for paragraphs (d), (e), (f), (h), (j) & (k) of the amendment.  The Green Group members voted against, but for paragraph (k) of the amendment.  Councillor Lewis Chinchen voted for, but against paragraph (i) of the amendment.)

8.6

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

RESOLVED:

That this Council believes:-

(a)      that thanks are due to the people of Sheffield who took part in democracy and voted in recent local elections to choose who will represent them;

(b)      that thanks are also due to those who voted in the May 2021 referendum which established a new, modern committee system that needs political groups to work together in a more collaborative and less adversarial way of working;

(c)      that the Council and the communities we represent face the multiple challenges of the cost of living crisis, overstretched and underfunded Council services and a growing demand for those services from the public;

(d)      that new initiatives, detailed below, are needed and we call on all groups on the Council to support them;

(e)      that people’s experience of engaging with the Council is not always positive and poor access to services has a worse impact on people already disadvantaged for other reasons; people experience difficulties engaging with the Council and in getting responses to local concerns and issues;

(f)       that local Councillors are often the ones most aware when the Council's processes are not working because local people contact them when the system doesn’t work;

(g)      that due to the cost of living crisis our services will be in even higher demand and need, and making them more accessible must be prioritised in light of this;

(h)      that the challenge for this Council, like other councils around the country, is to play a leading role locally in addressing the cost of living crisis that our communities face;

(i)       that the cost of living crisis is caused by a combination of corporate greed, rising prices, low incomes and policy choices made by national governments, condemning millions to increasing levels of poverty which disproportionately affects women, children, disabled people and members of marginalised and minority communities;

(j)       that we must seek to address both immediate need and also make our communities resilient to future crises through a combination of measures, such as retrofitting homes to high energy efficiency standards to reduce energy usage, and provision of skills and training;

(k)      that whilst all councils operate a Corporate Risk Register, where all the risks the Council faces are detailed and a risk management plan is produced to mitigate those risks, this approach can mean that councils focus on risks rather than opportunities;

(l)       that the Council’s financial sustainability now depends on funding opportunities, not further cuts;

(m)     that to act as a balance to the Corporate Risk Register, there should be a Corporate Opportunities Register, detailing new funding opportunities, partnership opportunities and initiatives that will help deliver the Council's objectives, such as supporting those affected by the cost of living crisis;

This Council resolves:-

(n)      to recommend that the Council’s Strategy and Resources Policy Committee notes this Motion and requests a Customer Service Improvement Plan to be in place within 4 months, to show how it will aim to improve response times and accessibility to services, regardless of the community that customers come from or their background, language or disability; and recognising that the Council’s services also need to be available to people without access to the phone or internet;

(o)      to recommend that the Strategy and Resources Policy Committee establishes a Cost of Living Crisis Working Group, together with other public and voluntary sector partners, to be tasked with producing a Cost of Living Crisis Action Plan within 4 months;

(p)      that progress on the delivery of this action plan be reported regularly to the Strategy and Resources Policy Committee;

(q)      to recommend that the Strategy and Resources Policy Committee requests a Corporate Opportunities Register to be in place within 6 months, kept up-to-date by Executive Directors and reported regularly to the relevant committee, noting this motion;

This Council:-

(r)       believes that there can be no doubt that we are in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis, with surges in fuel, energy and food prices and with inflation running at a 30-year high;

(s)      believes that the cost of living crisis is the single biggest issue, and most immediate concern, for most people across the UK;

(t)       notes that, whilst global shocks and the war in Ukraine have of course had an impact, a decade of low growth under Conservative-led governments has left the economy weakened and unable to deal with shocks;

(u)      believes the Government’s response has been woeful and further highlights how out of touch they are, and that rather than getting to grips with the serious issues facing our country they instead are preoccupied with waging unnecessary culture wars;

(v)      believes there is much the Government needs to be doing, and one need only look to governments across Europe to see what can be done to help households against a sharp rise in energy bills, and yet here in the UK the Government’s spring statement offered nothing to those who really need it;

(w)      believes, therefore, that the Government should take heed of the Labour Party’s call for an emergency budget and supports the following activity:-

(i)       a windfall tax on the profits of oil and gas companies, which would save household bills by up to £600 (helping mitigate the Government’s National Insurance rise);

(ii)       a discount on business rates for small and medium sized businesses;

(iii)      a "rapid ramp-up" of installing insulation into homes across the country to save on energy bills;

(iv)      an investigation by the National Crime Agency into taxpayer money lost through fraud; and

(v)      reversing the £20 per week cut to Universal Credit;

(x)      believes that whilst the Government is spectacularly failing to help families, members of the previous Council administration have, over the course of the last year, been working to ensure the Council is doing everything it can to support residents through the cost of living crisis;

(y)      notes that at an organisational level, Sheffield City Council are treating the cost of living crisis with the same resolve as it did for the pandemic;

(z)      notes that, just like in the pandemic, the Leader of the Council established a Gold Command Executive Management Team, and is ensuring that every effort is being made to review what the Council is doing in response to the difficulties facing our communities;

(aa)    notes that Sheffield City Council and partners have put together a Sheffield Money Support website to provide a single point of access for residents;

(bb)    believes that our Council should act as a point of call for those in need, and reaffirms support for the forthcoming rollout of a Financial Support Access Plan – so Sheffielders can be best advised where to go for the right financial support, suited to their circumstances;

(cc)     notes that due to the approval of the budget amendment proposed by the Labour Group in March 2022, which secured £3.5 million for sustainable local energy, the Council is increasing ways to get energy bills down, through installing renewable energy on our estate; such as schools, libraries, community centres and council homes;

(dd)    notes that under the previous Administration’s Housing Revenue Account, the Council is retrofitting 6,000 homes with new roofs, and 2,000 homes will benefit from boiler replacements, as well as ensuring that all council homes are to at least EPC C (Energy Performance Level C) – making homes warmer and reducing bills;

(ee)    further notes that the approved amendment to the budget, proposed by the Labour Group, put extra resources into supporting neighbourhoods, and focused extra support on those who will be the most hardest hit, including further support for the Food Access Plan;

(ff)      believes that this resolve to tackle this crisis must carry on throughout the new committee system, and calls on every Policy Committee to ensure that the cost of living crisis is a key priority in their work plans, and that all financial decisions must consider what impact they will be having on the crisis;

(gg)    notes that the Leader of the Council has already begun convening a strategic conversation with partners and stakeholders (including the voluntary and community sector, public sector partners, utility companies and MPs) to maximise our collective effort around responding to the crisis;

(hh)    believes that the Council must be committed, both politically and organisationally, to delivering the savings needed for long term financial sustainability, and that the use of one-off reserves to balance the 2022/23 budget is only a short-term solution;

(ii)       furthermore, believes that the underlying imbalance between spending and income must be addressed;

(jj)       consequently, believes that the Council must continue to investigate and implement service re-designs and transformations to reduce the underlying gap in its budgets for 2023/24 onwards;

(kk)     welcomes the recognition in the “Our Sheffield: The Year Ahead” plan, considered by the Strategy and Resources Policy Committee yesterday, of the weak performance of a number of council services and the ambition to put these services back on track;

(ll)       welcomes the establishment by the Strategy and Resources Policy Committee of a cost of living Gold Command and resolves to support the work of that Command, bringing in partners, and seeking innovative ways to help the people of Sheffield get through this crisis; and

(mm)  believes the Housing Policy Committee should work quickly to advance the retrofitting of homes to high energy efficiency standards, to bring long term benefits around the cost of heating a home to a large number of Sheffield residents.

8.6.1

(NOTE: The result of the vote was FOR - 46 Members; AGAINST - 0 Members; ABSTENTIONS – 26 Members.  The Liberal Democrat Group members abstained, but voted for paragraphs (hh) to (mm) of the Substantive Motion.  The Green Group members voted for, but against paragraphs (t), (z) and (hh) to (ll) of the Substantive Motion.  Councillor Lewis Chinchen stated to the meeting that although he would be voting for the Substantive Motion, he would be voting against paragraphs (c), (i) & (t) to (y) – however, his vote did not appear in the e-voting record.)