Motion E
Winter Fuel Allowance
Proposer: Cllr Scott Emery
Seconder: Cllr Nick da Costa
Council notes:
- The
Labour Government has restricted eligibility for Winter Fuel
Payments to those on means-tested benefits (primarily Pension
Credit); reducing the number of people eligible for Winter Fuel
Payments from around 12 million to 1.2 million;
- The
government is set to receive a windfall of £1.5 billion from
Octopus Energy, which would be enough to reinstate Winter Fuel
Payments for this year;
- The
most recent statistics showed 27,145 households in Haringey were in
receipt of the winter fuel allowance, an estimated 74% of whom will
lose out under the government’s rule changes;
- To
receive Pension Credit a single pensioner must have an income of
less than £11,343.80 per year, compared with a full-time
living wage salary of £20,820.8 per year;
- 37% of
those eligible do not claim pension credit, and 780,000 pensioners
earning below £11,400 per year will no longer receive the
Winter Fuel Payment under Labour’s plans, according to the
government’s own equalities analysis;
- Data
from Policy in Practice shows that almost £17 million of
pension credit goes unclaimed in Haringey each year, affecting over
4000 households;
- Haringey’s analysis shows that there are 815 eligible
residents not claiming pension credit in the borough;
- 4 out
5 pensioners due to lose the Winter Fuel Payment are on or below
the poverty line according to Age UK;
- The
Energy Price Cap has risen by 10% in October, which, combined with
restricted eligibility for Winter Fuel Payments, will push
thousands of local pensioners into fuel poverty;
- Many
councils are planning to use the Household Support Fund to provide
payments to pensioners who are missing out on the winter fuel
payment, and Haringey has confirmed its plans to provide a payment
from the council to 2,804 pension aged households claiming council
tax reduction scheme.
Council believes:
- Balancing the government’s budget on the back of
vulnerable pensioners is morally wrong;
- The
government’s decision to use claiming pension credit as its
criterion for receiving the winter fuel payment, whilst knowing
that more than a third of those eligible do not claim, was an
unethical choice;
- It is
wrong for councils to have to compensate for central government
cutting support for some of the least affluent in society,
particularly at a time of stretched budgets;
- Elderly people with an income as low as £218.15 per week
are not affluent, and many are vulnerable and at risk of health
problems from cold weather;
- It has
responsibilities to the most vulnerable to protect them from
avoidable public health risks;
- That a
review of the eligibility criteria for the Winter Fuel Allowance
should take place immediately, in consultation with pensioner
representative groups, ensuring that pensioners on low and middle
incomes are protected this winter.
Council resolves:
- To use
the Household Support Fund to provide a payment from the council to
pension aged households claiming council tax reduction
scheme;
- To
examine what support can be provided to these same households in
future years, once the Household Support Fund has been removed by
government;
- To
redouble public information campaigns to encourage greater uptake
of Pension Credits by those who are entitled to them;
- To
instruct the Leader of the Council and the Chief Executive to write
to the Chancellor of the Exchequer and Secretary of State for Work
and Pensions, copied to Haringey’s Members of Parliament, to
set out Haringey Council’s concerns on this matter, to
request that a review along the lines described above takes place,
and to request that they reverse the policy of linking Winter Fuel
Allowance payments to receipt of Pension Credit.
Motion F
Title: SEND provision in Haringey
Proposer: Cllr Zena Brabazon
Seconder: Cllr Makbule Gunes
This Council notes:
In England, 1.6 million young people have special
educational needs, a rise of 6.3% since 2023;
In Haringey, there are approximately 8,000 children
and young people who require SEN support and 2,974 who have an
education, health and care plan (EHCP). Compared with the previous
year, there has been a 22% increase in the number of requests for
an assessment for an EHCP and an overall increase of 6% for
children with EHCP’s;
In the Autumn budget, the new government announced a
package of investment measures to support young people and families
across the UK. These included tripling breakfast club funding,
£6.1bn in capital investment for rebuilding and maintaining
schools and £2.3bn for revenue investment which includes
£1bn in additional SEND funding;
The Mayor of London has announced the extension of
universal free school meals to primary aged children which has
allowed schools to access additional essential pupil premium
funding;
This administration is committed to strengthen
Children’s Services in Haringey and officers have worked
collaboratively with partners and community groups such as SEND
Power to enhance our support to young people and families
in;
Children’s Services were awarded a Good by
Ofsted for the first time in its history and was awarded the
highest rating in its SEND service provision by a joint Ofsted and
CQC inspection;
The Safety Valve Programme, implemented by this
administration, has enabled the council to create an additional 170
places for young people with SEND in partnership with mainstream
and special schools across the borough;
The Safety Value Programme has supported us in
extending capacity in mainstream and special schools in-borough,
which enables a local and integrated education, care, and support
to be close to families and support networks, especially those with
the most complex needs.
This Council believes:
That 14 years of underinvestment in SEND has put
local authorities and their ability to deliver their statutory
obligations and provide the best support under strain;
That future investment, resources and research in
how local authorities meet the most complex needs in the SEND high
needs block is vital;
Ensuring that funding is available and sufficient
for all young people who require additional support to be able to
access it.
This Council resolves:
To call on the UK government to enhance routes to
accessing support for all that need it such as providing better
diagnosis of special needs;
To call on the UK government for further funding for
local authorities to improve outcomes for children and young
people;
To write to the Secretary of State for Education to
highlight our implementation of the Safety Valve programme, invite
her to visit and see firsthand the
success it and other measures have had on SEND provision in
Haringey.