It goes without saying this will eventually have a detrimental effect on our many small businesses. I am confident that the majority of members will support these proposals because when this project has been previously discussed that has been the outcome. 

The Council, therefore, calls on the Executive to explore the construction of a new multi-storey car park on the current bus station site to serve the needs of Hospital Staff, visitors and contractors as well as to provide additional car parking capacity to support the railway station and town centre. 

 



Councillor Gemma Davies re-joined the meeting at 2:55
p.m.



 



Motion 3 – Local Government Finance and the present
Cost of Living Emergency 



 



Councillor Liz Harvey
proposed the motion.



 



Councillor John Harrington
seconded the motion.



 



Council debated the motion.



 



In summary, there was support
for the declaration of a cost of living emergency in Herefordshire and proposed
lobbying of central government for a fair funding settlement.



 



Councillor Liz Harvey closed
the debate.



 



The motion was put to the recorded
vote and was carried by a simple majority.



 



FOR (28): Councillors Graham
Andrews, Paul Andrews, Bartlett, Boulter, Bowen, Chowns, Gemma Davies, Foxton,
Hardwick, Harrington, Harvey, Hewitt, Hey, Hitchiner, Howells, James, Jinman,
Mike Jones, Marsh, Matthews, Milln, Norman, Price, Probert, Summers,
Tillett, Toynbee and Tyler. 



 



AGAINST (0): 



 



ABSTENTIONS (5): Councillors
Gandy, Guthrie, Kenyon, Shaw and Swinglehurst.



 



RESOLVED – that:



 



Since setting this year’s
council budget in February 2022 the rate of inflation has quadrupled and fuel
prices have rocketed. Here in Herefordshire, we have been assessed (by the
Joint Strategic Needs Analysis, Public Health, ONS and Census data) as having
significant issues with levels of child poverty, fuel poverty, food poverty,
high house prices, low wages, low productivity, low growth, and low skills. 



 



Nationally - and even more
so locally - we are facing a cost-of-living emergency which, alongside the
already declared climate emergency, is hitting hardest the least well off of
our residents. These are also the people most likely to need and rely upon the
very services this council is now struggling to sustain. 



 



Our communities struggle to
be resilient in the face of such extreme cost pressures.



 



Our two Herefordshire MPs
have voted to support funding cuts for local government on every occasion that these
have been put to Parliament. Over the last ten years the consequence of this
has been a reduction of more than £100m in the annual core funding
Herefordshire Council receives from government for local service delivery.



 



In the Chancellor’s Autumn
Statement just a fortnight ago, central government relaxed its cap on council
tax increases for social care and core services. The result being that every
local authority in the land will have to raise the local council tax to the
maximum in order for the government’s statements about the funding made
available to local government to add up.



 



Here in Herefordshire the
government’s mismanagement of the national economy and its deliberate and
ideologically driven underfunding of local government means that to balance the
2023 budget this council needs to find savings of in excess of £22m – nearly
10% of our service costs – just to survive. As a local authority we accept the
responsibility to manage local service demands, but the economic consequences
of national inflation is beyond our ability to mitigate.



 



Back in 2014 the UK was
found to be failing in its commitments under the European Charter on Local Self
Government – particularly in regard to the requirements of article of the
charter relating to the provision of adequate finance resources to local
authorities commensurate with the responsibilities placed on such authorities
by their constitutions and by the law. (https://rm.coe.int/local-and-regional-democracy-in-the-united-kingdom-recommendation-ange/168071a826) 



 



In March
2022, the UK was audited again found still to be failing in many of its
commitments – especially as regards providing adequate finance to local
government.
(https://search.coe.int/congress/pages/result_details.aspx?objectid=0900001680a5b483) 



 



The failure over many years
to adequately fund local government and thereby the services relied upon by
those most in need and vulnerable in our communities leads to poverty,
suffering, ill-health, inequality, loneliness, abuse, neglect and, in the worst
cases, death. This situation must not be allowed to continue.



 



Therefore, this council
resolves to: 



 



·      
Recognise and welcome the grants which
have been provided to-date to individuals, households and businesses to offset
some of the real and immediate damage being caused by inflation and fuel costs



·      
Declare a Cost-of-Living Emergency here
in Herefordshire and, as a consequence, also to:



o  
Recognise and respond to the
disproportionate effect that this emergency has upon the least well off of our
residents



o  
Provide easy, swift and understandable
access to advice and support for people in need



·      
Request that the Chief Executive write
to the Prime Minister, and to both Herefordshire MPs, to call for their support
for Government to:



o  
Meet in full its commitments under the
European Charter on Local Self Government



o  
Commit immediately to uplift local
government funding for 2023-24 by the current level of inflation – as assessed
by the Office for Budgetary Responsibility (11%)



o  
Provide sustained funding to address
fuel and food poverty such that food banks become unnecessary



o  
Undertake and implement the promised
local government fair funding review



o  
Commit to provide rolling 3-year index
linked funding settlements for local government



o  
Agree rolling 3-year index linked grants
to recognise additional service delivery costs for rural councils until the
fair funding review is implemented



o  
Undertake the revaluation and re-banding
of domestic properties for council tax and a review of the business rates
charging system