We're ramping up efforts to help people with the rising cost of living
Monday, 17 October 2022
Our Executive has unanimously recommended extra and immediate funding and support to residents struggling with cost-of-living increases.
It has also tasked officers to review proposals from the Fairness Taskforce and other initiatives to include within our annual financial planning process which is currently in progress.
The report from the cross-party Fairness Taskforce (which was set up in December 2021) presented a series of options to support local people with the cost of living.
Immediately and as a direct response to rising cost of living, Executive agreed on funding for a series of initiatives, including:
- increasing the current funding we provide to Citizens Advice in the area, which offers confidential advice for free on legal, debt, consumer, housing and other problems
- increasing funding to the voluntary organisations Community Voluntary Service (CVS) and Bedfordshire Rural Communities Charity (BRCC), both of which are already doing important work on the ground with local volunteers and communities
- setting up a crisis fund to be administered by our children’s centres to provide emergency assistance for families facing hardship (and to increase funding if needed)
The Executive also agreed to create a network of ‘Warm Spaces’ across Central Bedfordshire, including our 12 public libraries which can provide a warm and safe space where people can tap into free Wi-Fi, two hours of free computer use a day, free study space, phone charging opportunities, free events and activities, free e-books, free e-audio and more. Everyone is welcome.
Councillor Richard Wenham, Leader of the Council, explained:
Recognising the pressures facing our residents right now, we have found funding that will make a real difference straight away for vulnerable people. This additional funding will help existing residents and provide support to many more.
A further set of recommendations were made by our Fairness Taskforce to respond to the rapidly changing world and rising inflation. This included speaking with Citizens Advice about possible service extensions, making sure we continue to signpost residents to support for cost-of-living and monitoring the effectiveness of the Government’s energy support proposals to the third sector.
Other long-term recommendations were included as part of a Fairness Plan, designed to consider medium and long-term initiatives that could help reduce deprivation and make a lasting difference for those experiencing poverty. It was agreed that these are best taken forward as part of our medium-term financial planning process so that they can be linked up with with existing practice by us and our partners.
Councillor Wenham added:
The original aim of the Fairness Taskforce was to look at what long-term solutions we can put in place, or barriers we can remove, to level the playing field for everyone. Cost-of-living pressures have required some more immediate-term support, but we are still committed to helping people lift themselves out of poverty in a lasting way. The process of working together with the local voluntary sector and residents continues to be incredibly valuable and I would like to thank those people that have already shared their personal experiences to help us look for solutions.