Agenda item

Cost of Living

(Cabinet Member with Special Responsibility Councillor Caroline Jackson)

 

Report of Chief Executive

Minutes:

(Cabinet Member with Special Responsibility Councillor Caroline Jackson)

 

Cabinet received a report from the Chief Executive to request that Cabinet authorises the Chief Executive to develop plans, with partners, to prepare for the likelihood of increasing cost of living developing into an emergency over the autumn and winter.

 

The options, options analysis, including risk assessment and officer preferred option, were set out in the report as follows:

 

 

Option 1: to work with partners to develop a local plan to deal with expected emergency from increased costs of living

Option 2: to focus solely on normal business and addressing the Council’s own cost of living issues.

Option 3: To adopt a different approach

Advantages

Shows leadership

 

Is consistent with Council priorities

 

Has support of

partners

 

Ensures community buy in.

 

Builds on what is individual partners are already doing

Ensures a focus on day-to-day service delivery

 

Ensures a focus on the Council’s own cost of living and wider financial challenges

 

Disadvantages

Raises expectation of what the Council and partners can deliver

 

Will require some reprioritisation of other areas of work

 

Unlike the pandemic Council staff are all allocated to delivering their services so this will create further demands on our teams.

Inconsistent with the Council’s priorities for the District.

 

Does not fulfil the Council’s community leadership role

 

Does not show the Council to be

a reliable partner

 

Fails our communities and businesses

 

Risks

Without significant Government intervention a local approach will not suffice

The Council fail to deliver its agreed priorities

 

The Council fails to act as community leader

Existing partnerships are damaged

 

The impact on our communities is worsened

 

 

The officer preferred option is option 1.

 

Councillor Caroline Jackson proposed, seconded by Councillor Hamilton-Cox:-

 

“That the recommendations, as set out in the report, be approved.”

 

Councillors then voted:-

 

Resolved unanimously:

 

(1)        That Lancaster City Council considers that the increases in cost of living threaten serious damage to human welfare and should therefore be planned for as an emergency.

 

(2)        That the Chief Executive is instructed to direct officer capacity, from within existing resources, to work with partners to develop plans that will help our communities and businesses so they can access support that is or becomes available from Government, private sector, the Council and our other partners.

 

(3)        That the Chief Executive is instructed to direct officer capacity, from within existing resources, to work with partners to consider the existing and emerging evidence and risks and ensure plans are ready to inform a formal emergency response in the event of the pressures of the cost of living crisis escalating into an emergency that would fall within the remit of the Civil Contingencies Act 2004.

 

(4)        That progress is reported back to Cabinet.

 

Officer responsible for effecting the decision:

 

Chief Executive

 

Reasons for making the decision:

 

The decision is consistent with the Council’s priorities:

 

· An Inclusive and Prosperous Local Economy

· Healthy and Happy Communities

· A Sustainable District

 

The decision enables a  formalised approach with the City Council taking a leading role in working with other community, voluntary and business sector partners from across the District to co-design an emergency plan for communities and businesses in our area. The approach taken will follow the tested principles of planning for an emergency that were used during the pandemic. The plan will be based on the wealth of existing evidence that the Council and partners already possess and take account of best practice from across Lancashire and the UK. It will be guided by direction that comes from the Government, identify existing sources of direct and indirect support and identify where there are significant gaps and recommend what interventions are needed.

Supporting documents: