Hucknall: ‘Cost-of-living emergency’ to be declared amid concerns over rising household poverty in Ashfield

A 'cost-of-living emergency' is expected to be declared in Ashfield which the local council will use to call for more Government action to support residents with soaring gas, electricity and food bills.

It comes as Ashfield District Council's leader says enquiries from residents struggling to pay council tax or rent have "gone through the roof", with household spending increasing month-by-month alongside a 40-year high in inflation.

Councillors on the Ashfield Independent-led authority will debate whether to declare the 'emergency' next week which, if approved, would see the council calling on the Government to go further in tackling rising poverty.

Calls for support would include bringing back the £20 uplift in Universal Credit removed following the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as reintroducing the 'triple-lock' guarantee on state pensions.

The triple lock is a government commitment to raise the value of the state pension every tax year by whatever is highest at the time: inflation, average wage growth or 2.5 per cent.

Its reintroduction is expected to take place next year, having been removed temporarily following the Covid-19 pandemic.

And the council would also call on the Government to reduce VAT from 20 per cent to 17.5 per cent, which the motion states will provide "real action" for household budgets.

Nottinghamshire County Council figures show roughly one-in-three children across the Ashfield district are currently eligible to claim free school meals.

Across Nottinghamshire as a whole, the figure is slightly more than one-in-four, with around 10,000 more pupils eligible to claim since the start of the pandemic.

Proposing the motion, Councillor Jason Zadrozny (Ash Ind), leader of Ashfield District Council, says the ongoing cost of living issues have caused poverty to be at the "highest since records began" in his area.

He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "As a council and as councillors, we've seen the realities of the cost-of-living crisis first-hand.

"Enquiries from residents not being able to pay their council tax and rent have gone through the roof. They have gone up 10 fold since 2020.

"Poverty is the highest since records began in Ashfield. Government action has been merely a sticking plaster and is simply keeping the wolves from thousands of residents' doors.

"Unless real action is taken people are going to die from hunger. It's that serious and we need real action now."

Chancellor Rishi Sunak outlined a series of measures in May to combat the cost of living crisis, including a number of payments to households to compensate for rising bills.

This included the previously-announced £150 council tax rebate for all band A-D homes, a £150 disability payment and a £1 billion household support fund for people "most in need with the cost of essentials".

The Conservative-led Government is also reducing the National Insurance contribution threshold this month, reducing the Universal Credit taper rate by eight per cent and also increased work allowances by £500 from late 2021.

Ministers also U-turned on opposition calls for a 'windfall tax' on major energy companies, with excess profits to be taxed via an 'Energy Profits Levy' to fund the additional support for homes.

And Mr Sunak confirmed in a statement to MPs in May that the pensions 'triple-lock' is likely to return next year, meaning state pensioners could see their income significantly increase.

Responding to Cllr Zadrozny's concerns, a Government spokesperson added: "We recognise people are struggling with rising prices which is why we are protecting the eight million most vulnerable families with at least £1,200 of direct payments this year.

"All households will receive the £400 energy payments and 80 per cent will get a £150 Council Tax rebate.

"Through our £37bn support package we are also saving the typical employee over £330 a year through a tax cut this month, allowing people on Universal Credit to keep £1,000 more of what they earn and in April we significantly increased the National Living Wage to £9.50.

"We are taking a balanced approach – using our fiscal firepower to provide targeted help with the cost of living while being responsible with public finances to strengthen our economy for the long term."