Agenda item
Labour Motion - Poverty Reduction and the Local Government Funding
Hackney Council notes:
1. Following the Autumn Statement, Hackney Council’s Funding will remain below 2010 levels.
2. The Local Government Association (LGA) estimates that Councils in England face a funding gap of £4 billion.
3. The Institute of Fiscal Studies notes that local government funding in London is 17% lower than the relative need - the largest gap of any region in England.
4. Hackney Council has suffered a decrease in core Government funding in real terms of £156m since 2010.
5. The Household Support Fund (HSF) enabled the council to provide a lifeline to tens of thousands of households in Hackney struggling to afford energy, food, clothing and other essentials, particularly the 40% of children living in poverty.
6. The continued calculation of the social care grant using the relative needs formula based on adult need only, fails to provide adequate funding for Hackney with high need for children's social care.
7. Hackney is carrying a deficit in relation to SEND funding and has one of the largest proportions of Education, Health and Care Plan’s in the country.
8. The funding gap has forced the Council to increase Council tax by the maximum 4.99%.
9. The Council is honouring the commitment to increase Council tax support for Hackney’s low income households and doubling the tax on empty properties.
10.The council has established a poverty reduction framework working with
partners to reduce poverty for Hackney Residents. The framework makes connections between crisis support, early help and prevention and tackling longer term drivers of poverty e.g. unemployment, housing. The framework includes the money hub which has paid out £1.5m in grants and £2.0m in new benefit income to vulnerable residents.
11.The programme is dependent on HSF and without this funding the programme will be under threat.
Hackney Council further notes:
12.The letter recently sent by the Mayor and the Cabinet Member for Finance to Michael Gove Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, expressing serious concerns about the inadequacy of Hackney’s funding and asking Government to implement a sustainable long term funding solution that takes proper account of current and future needs.
Hackney Council resolves to:
13.Call on the Government to restore the Household Support Fund in advance of the Spring Statement and to guarantee continuation of this funding.
14.Lobby for fair funding for Hackney.
15.Campaign for reform of the method used to allocate social care funding and ensure adequate funding for Hackney’s needs.
16.Call for restoration of Hackney's Core Funding to 2010 levels.
17.Call for comprehensive reform of SEND funding and the implementation of a future funding settlement which covers the needs of Hackney residents.
18.Call for Longer-term pooled funding in place of short-term competitive funding pots to prevent councils competing with each other for funding they desperately need.
19.Contact political parties ahead of the general election as to the details of their future plans to stabilise and fix local government finance, and to respond to them with Hackney’s requirements.
Proposer: Cllr Margaret Gordon
Seconder: Cllr Sharon Patrick