The City Mayor will answer questions raised by members of the Overview Select Committee on issues not covered elsewhere on the agenda.
Minutes:
The agenda order was changed.
1. Question from the Chair, Councillor Cassidy:
`We recently learnt that more than 30,000 households in Leicester are struggling to pay fuel bills and we know that prices are to rise sharply again this year. We also know that certain areas of the city are amongst the worst-hit in the country. What are we doing as a local authority and what more can be done to support those households who are experiencing or are in danger of experiencing fuel poverty?’
The City Mayor responded to the question and made the following points:
· It was recognised that fuel poverty was a significant challenge for the city, which would only get worse as fuel and other basic living costs continued to increase. The new National Insurance Levy to be introduced to support adult social care would place a heavier burden on citizens, and protections around debt collection and benefit reductions in place for the pandemic were to be removed and were hitting households very hard. Citizens Advice had estimated that from April, when the energy cap increased, one-third of a person’s benefits would be required for energy bills.
· The Council has provided help earlier in the financial year from the Local Covid Support Grant, and then more recently through the Household Support Fund, though it was acknowledged that these were Government funded schemes for the current financial year only. Around 70% of the Household Support Fund was being awarded towards fuel costs. Across both schemes, £1.5m had been awarded to over 5,000 households towards fuel costs by the end of December 2021. Awards would continue to be made until the scheme closed at the end of March (or earlier, if fully spent). Citizens Advice Leicestershire had been complimentary of the Council’s approach of focussing awards on fuel, which had significantly mitigated the fuel crisis in the city to date. The awards included top-ups for pre-payment meters, direct credits to suppliers’ accounts and paying off arrears.
· The Council also supported households in crisis through the Community Support Grant. The Holiday Activities & Food Programme (HAF Programme) had also used Government funding to provide food during the school holidays for children who were eligible for free school meals. Vulnerable households would also be supported through the Discretionary Housing Payments scheme and Council Tax Discretionary Relief scheme.
· Help and advice with regard to energy was available from EnergyWise based at the Community Advice and Law Service. Debt advice was available from Citizens Advice Leicestershire and included where energy costs were a primary cause of debt. The Council had also commissioned benefits advice sessions and sessions for jobseekers in libraries.
· Other national support included cold weather payments for people on certain benefits for when the temperature dropped below zero for a week, the warm homes discount for pensioners and others on a low income, and the winter fuel payment for pensioners.
· For council tenants, practical advice on energy saving measures was available from the Housing Division. Vulnerable tenants were supported by STAR, for example, to move to a supplier which offered the warm homes discount and to claim other financial support. Council tenants on the district heating scheme were protected from short term price fluctuations as the Council had bulk purchased gas and energy in advance. The HRA budget report presented earlier proposed to increase charges by just over 7% for 2022/23, but was significantly lower than those not on the scheme.
· The Council has been successful in securing funding from the Green Homes grant to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions in private sector rented and owner-occupied properties, where the owner/occupier was on lower income. For example, £4.5m had recently been received from a National Grid scheme, which was installing first-time gas central heating systems in around 100 homes. The Council would bid for any new funding that became available.
· Funding had also been received for council housing and there was an on-going programme of energy efficiency improvements. The Council was benefitting from the work done over a number of years, and related back to the HRA account, with the insulation of homes and double glazing.
· All new affordable housing was being built to an EPC rating of A and solar power generation was maximised.
· Looking ahead to the new financial year starting in April 2022, the Government had announced a £200 discount on all electricity bills, which would later be repaid over 5 years. The City Mayor said there would be the possibility that bills would remain high whilst people were being asked to repay the loan. It was noted a £150 payment to people living in properties in council tax Bands A-D would be paid through the Council and was expected to help up to 125,000 households in the city (96% of the total properties).
· There would also be discretionary funding of £144million nationally in England to provide support for vulnerable people and individuals on low incomes that did not pay council tax, or for those that paid for properties in the higher bands E-H but were still facing hardship. The city might expect to receive around £1million. However, this amount would be less than a third of the funding received for the Household Support Fund, so would not go as far as needed.
· The City Mayor said it was going to cause real hardship, with people having to make the decision to pay for heating or eating. The Council would continue to make the case nationally that proper support needed to be provided to people across the city struggling with costs such as fuel, food and rent costs.
2. Question from Councillor Gee:
‘With the government’s announcement of a council tax refund of 150 pounds for band A to D, are the government replacing this money centrally – in full or in part? And if not, what effect could that have on services?’
In response it was noted:
· The Government would reimburse councils.
3. Question from Councillor Gee:
`Have the council had to send out new council tax bill for bands A to D and if so how much has that cost? And if there has been a cost has the government said if they will refund us?’
In response it was noted:
· It would be billed as a Council Tax Energy Rebate and would be a one-off payment. It was noted it was a rebate payment and not a reduction on Council Tax, therefore, it did not require the bills to be reduced, and the Government would supply the wording to go on the bills.
· It would operate outside of the Council Tax system, but the Council would use its data to identify eligible households (around 125,000).