Submission History: Motion by Councillor Malcolm Mitchell:- "Council urges the UK Government to review its decision to scrap winter fuel payments for 10m pensioners after the energy regulator Ofgem announced household energy bills will rise by £150 in October, hiking its price cap from the current £1,568 for a typical household in England, Scotland and Wales to £1,717 of which older people will feel the brunt. Council notes that analysis by the End Fuel Poverty Coalition has found that in real terms, the changes this winter mean that people will face the highest energy bills on record with energy bills for the winter ahead now confirmed as being 65% above where they were before the crisis, and that the UK Labour Government needs to come up with a plan to prevent even more households entering fuel poverty this winter. Council is appalled that adding insult to injury, in the detail of the Ofgem announcement is the fact that the profit margins energy suppliers are allowed to make will increase by 11%, whilst massive profits for firms in the wider energy industry continue to be made and that it is time to tax these firms fairly - instead of targeting pensioners and the poor - curb profiteering and use the money to keep people warm now and in the long term. Council further notes that the UK Labour Prime Minister has been warned the double hit will lead to disaster for pensioners on low and modest incomes or living in vulnerable circumstances due to ill health and that older people are being put in jeopardy. Council joins campaigners and charities, calling for the UK Labour Government to change course. Council agrees with Age UK that with pensioners also "losing the cost-of-living payments they've received over the last two years we simply cannot see how some of them will cope"; concurs with the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, that the Labour Government's "cruel decision" will see more vulnerable people succumb to health complications from living in cold and damp conditions, turning to the NHS for support; and in accord with National Energy Action that the Labour UK government is "cutting off support from those who have zero flexibility in their own budget, with no choice other than debt or going cold". Council condemns the ongoing cynicism of the Labour Party in continuously calling for the Scottish Government and Scottish taxpayers to mitigate UK austerity. Council agrees with Age Scotland and Energy Action Scotland who have said the Scottish Government has been left with no choice but to replicate plans to means-test the Winter Fuel Payment, and the End Fuel Poverty Coalition that it is "a decision essentially made in Westminster by the Chancellor, but it is pensioners in Scotland and across the rest of the UK that will pay the price." Council notes that the Scotland Office is being given expanded powers turning it into a "spending department" and that is a direct assault on devolution and the power of the Scottish Government and the priorities the people of Scotland have elected it to address. Council further notes reports that the Secretary of State for Scotland is to be allocated £150million bypassing democratic oversight, and that if he chose to do so, this money could cover the Winter Fuel Payment cuts being forced on Scottish pensioners by his colleagues. Council instructs the Chief Executive to write to the Scottish Secretary requesting that he gives pensioners back their money. Council understands that, under the current devolution settlement, spending decisions by UK governments have direct and unavoidable consequences for the Scottish Government's budget and Scottish public services. Council is alarmed at the signals from the UK Chancellor that she intends to use her Autumn Statement to propose further public spending cuts in order to fulfil the arbitrary, unnecessary and economically damaging right-wing "fiscal rules" established by previous UK Chancellors, to which she has chosen to adhere. Council agrees that this would have a devastating impact on Scottish public resources, with direct consequences for local government services, the public sector workforce and poverty and hardship in our communities. Council therefore instructs the Chief Executive to compile a briefing for elected members of the potential impact on the Council should further cuts to the Scottish Government budget leave it in a position of being unable to provide a flat cash settlement for local government in 2025/26, and agrees that this should be shared with the Chancellor ahead of her autumn statement along with the clear view of Glasgow City Council that she must abandon the path of fiscal austerity and commit to a programme of investment in public services in a way that will deliver tangible benefits for all parts of the UK. Council also instructs the Chief Executive to write to the UK Labour Pensions Minister Emma Reynolds regarding Council's emergency motion in March earlier this year in support of WASPI women's justice and highlight that 6 months later she still has not responded, and in that time WASPI estimates 20,000 women will have died. Council further instructs the Chief Executive to write to all Glasgow MP's asking them to join the call for justice for WASPI women and stop the jeopardy other pensioners are being placed in by their ruthless policies. Council agrees that the UK Government must stop asking local and Scottish governments to mitigate the poverty and despair the UK is causing which highlights the necessity of Scottish independence to put Scotland's energy future safely in Scotland's hands." Help Icon

This is the history for the submission "Motion by Councillor Malcolm Mitchell:- "Council urges the UK Government to review its decision to scrap winter fuel payments for 10m pensioners after the energy regulator Ofgem announced household energy bills will rise by £150 in October, hiking its price cap from the current £1,568 for a typical household in England, Scotland and Wales to £1,717 of which older people will feel the brunt. Council notes that analysis by the End Fuel Poverty Coalition has found that in real terms, the changes this winter mean that people will face the highest energy bills on record with energy bills for the winter ahead now confirmed as being 65% above where they were before the crisis, and that the UK Labour Government needs to come up with a plan to prevent even more households entering fuel poverty this winter. Council is appalled that adding insult to injury, in the detail of the Ofgem announcement is the fact that the profit margins energy suppliers are allowed to make will increase by 11%, whilst massive profits for firms in the wider energy industry continue to be made and that it is time to tax these firms fairly - instead of targeting pensioners and the poor - curb profiteering and use the money to keep people warm now and in the long term. Council further notes that the UK Labour Prime Minister has been warned the double hit will lead to disaster for pensioners on low and modest incomes or living in vulnerable circumstances due to ill health and that older people are being put in jeopardy. Council joins campaigners and charities, calling for the UK Labour Government to change course. Council agrees with Age UK that with pensioners also "losing the cost-of-living payments they've received over the last two years we simply cannot see how some of them will cope"; concurs with the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, that the Labour Government's "cruel decision" will see more vulnerable people succumb to health complications from living in cold and damp conditions, turning to the NHS for support; and in accord with National Energy Action that the Labour UK government is "cutting off support from those who have zero flexibility in their own budget, with no choice other than debt or going cold". Council condemns the ongoing cynicism of the Labour Party in continuously calling for the Scottish Government and Scottish taxpayers to mitigate UK austerity. Council agrees with Age Scotland and Energy Action Scotland who have said the Scottish Government has been left with no choice but to replicate plans to means-test the Winter Fuel Payment, and the End Fuel Poverty Coalition that it is "a decision essentially made in Westminster by the Chancellor, but it is pensioners in Scotland and across the rest of the UK that will pay the price." Council notes that the Scotland Office is being given expanded powers turning it into a "spending department" and that is a direct assault on devolution and the power of the Scottish Government and the priorities the people of Scotland have elected it to address. Council further notes reports that the Secretary of State for Scotland is to be allocated £150million bypassing democratic oversight, and that if he chose to do so, this money could cover the Winter Fuel Payment cuts being forced on Scottish pensioners by his colleagues. Council instructs the Chief Executive to write to the Scottish Secretary requesting that he gives pensioners back their money. Council understands that, under the current devolution settlement, spending decisions by UK governments have direct and unavoidable consequences for the Scottish Government's budget and Scottish public services. Council is alarmed at the signals from the UK Chancellor that she intends to use her Autumn Statement to propose further public spending cuts in order to fulfil the arbitrary, unnecessary and economically damaging right-wing "fiscal rules" established by previous UK Chancellors, to which she has chosen to adhere. Council agrees that this would have a devastating impact on Scottish public resources, with direct consequences for local government services, the public sector workforce and poverty and hardship in our communities. Council therefore instructs the Chief Executive to compile a briefing for elected members of the potential impact on the Council should further cuts to the Scottish Government budget leave it in a position of being unable to provide a flat cash settlement for local government in 2025/26, and agrees that this should be shared with the Chancellor ahead of her autumn statement along with the clear view of Glasgow City Council that she must abandon the path of fiscal austerity and commit to a programme of investment in public services in a way that will deliver tangible benefits for all parts of the UK. Council also instructs the Chief Executive to write to the UK Labour Pensions Minister Emma Reynolds regarding Council's emergency motion in March earlier this year in support of WASPI women's justice and highlight that 6 months later she still has not responded, and in that time WASPI estimates 20,000 women will have died. Council further instructs the Chief Executive to write to all Glasgow MP's asking them to join the call for justice for WASPI women and stop the jeopardy other pensioners are being placed in by their ruthless policies. Council agrees that the UK Government must stop asking local and Scottish governments to mitigate the poverty and despair the UK is causing which highlights the necessity of Scottish independence to put Scotland's energy future safely in Scotland's hands."".

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Glasgow City Council 12/09/2024 Click here