Issue - meetings

Report of the Cabinet Member for Finance and Communities is attached.

Also to consider the following recommendation from Overview and Scrutiny Committee:

That prior to its consideration at the Cabinet Meeting on 13^th July the Overview and Scrutiny Committee recommends that:

1. The Cost of Living Support and Anti-poverty Strategy is amended to reference and incorporate the recently published Greater Manchester Poverty Action briefing (Briefing on the current scale of the socio-economic duty in England) and the Cabinet consider as part of its Anti-poverty strategy adopting voluntarily the Socio Economic Duty as detailed in Section 1 of the Equality Act 2010; and
2. The financial data contained with the report be updated

Councillor Richard Gold, Cabinet Member for Finance and Communities, responded to the Scrutiny recommendations, advising that the financial data had been updated as far as possible and that the Socio Economic Duty as detailed in Section 1 of the Equality Act 2010 was already considered as part of the strategy and the equality assessment carried out.

He went on to present the report which outlined the strengthened focus undertaken by the Council on anti-poverty over the last 18 months, and the refreshed anti-poverty strategy. It was noted that, given the increasing cost-of-living pressures, the proposed strategy had been updated to consider the immediate operational response and support available to residents in the short term, alongside the medium term measures to increase resilience locally.

Members discussed the report, and the Chairs of Overview & Scrutiny Committee and of Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee thanked Councillor Gold for his attendance at their meetings and accepted his response to the recommendations. Councillor Gold thanked the two Scrutiny Committees for their input and interest in the report, and advised that a guide was being developed for Councillors on this strategy.

Decision:

Cabinet approved the cost of living and anti-poverty strategy, including the proposals in relation to the Household Support Fund.

Reasons for the decision:

The strategy sets out the Council and partnership activity to take place in immediate and short-medium term, to mitigate cost-of-living pressures in the Borough whilst striving towards delivering the outcomes set out in the Let’s Do It! Strategy. This allows for a co-ordinated, targeted approach, capturing progress on deliverables and provides a framework through which to keep informed of the impact of pressures locally and through which to shape local responses to any future additional support measures made available.

Alternative options considered and rejected:

The plan has been developed with local partners and networks to align existing and future activity and to build on existing strengths. The immediate activity in relation to cost of living pressures has been aligned to the longer-term anti-poverty approaches so that there is a holistic local approach that seeks to tackle the causes of poverty and inequality rather than just react to the symptoms of current pressures.