West Lothian Council has unanimously passed a motion calling for Westminster action to tackle the growing pressures on household budgets of local constituents.
An SNP motion entitled 'The Year of the Squeeze' called on Westminster to reinstate the £20 uplift on Universal Credit and stall the removal of the energy price cap in April which is expected to bring a £1,200 surge in most household annual bills.
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The motion was backed by the Labour group and followed recent publication of the surge in inflation and the growth of food bills, widely publicised over the weekend, which showed that basic foodstuffs have more than doubled in price across the major supermarkets in the last year.
It was the second time in a meeting of the full council where the minority Labour group voted with the main SNP opposition.
Depute SNP group leader Frank Anderson said his constituents face increases such as the cheapest pasta rising from 29p to 70p, and the cheapest rice rising from 45p a kilo to £1 for 500g. Even tinned spaghetti has risen from around 13p to 35p.
Councillor Anderson appealed for cross party support saying: “These are basics for many families on a fixed income and that's the reality of inflation for people. There are pensioners who were promised the triple lock [a funding device to ensure rising pensions]. Now that has been withdrawn.
“The phrase 'heating or eating' is going to be a lot more relevant to a lot more people” .
Shocking figures released by West Lothian Anti-Poverty Service in the Autumn showed that 24.6 per cent (8,740) of children in West Lothian were in relative poverty in 2019 to 2020, compared to 24.3 per cent in Scotland.
This is the largest proportion of children living in relative poverty since 2014 to 2015 and represents a 3.3 per cent increase in the five-year period between 2015 to 2020.
In her report, Service manager Elaine Nisbet said: “The Covid-19 pandemic has served to further highlight long standing inequalities within our communities as the financial impact of the pandemic has been more significant for those at the highest risk of poverty. Consideration of socio-economic factors and the commitment to tackle child poverty has been integral to the pandemic response at both national and local level.”
Seconding Councillor Anderson’s motion, Councillor Maria MacAulay warned that the price cap would rise again in October putting ever more pressure on families who at the moment were struggling with growing bills and “few if any have savings”.
Labour Group Leader Lawrence Fitzpatrick said Labour would support the motion with the addition of Labour’s name and called for a move away from “silly partisan politics” to make a plea to Westminster on behalf of the council.
He told the meeting: “We are in a civilised country and there’s no doubt there are millions of people who will move from poor to dirt poor. Some 40% of people on Universal Credit are in work.”
Proposing an amendment Conservative group leader Damian Doran-Timson said he was surprised, given how many times he’d had to listen to the SNP asking for money, that the Labour group leader was backing the SNP in going Westminster and “getting the begging bowl out.”
He added: “It’s rather hypocritical to hear the SNP talking about businesses and families falling when the SNP has made Scotland the highest taxed part of the United Kingdom.”
The Tory group motion added: “The Conservative Group are pleased that the taper rate for Universal Credit will result in lower earners keeping more of their money, effectively a tax cut worth £2.2 billion for the lower earners.
“The Conservative Group are appalled however that the increase in NI [National Insurance] funding that the Scottish Government has received from the UK Government has not been passed onto Council. This has meant a reduction in West Lothian Councils budget of over £2.5m.
“Scotland has also been negatively impacted by the unacceptable decision by the SNP Government to continue with Covid restrictions with no scientific data to do so. This has cost businesses and individuals millions of pounds.”
Councillor Doran-Timson added the Holyrood government had it within its powers to reinstate the £20 uplift on Universal Credit if it wanted to. The Tory amendment called on the council to put the country on a “level playing field by having no higher taxes than the rest of the UK at the earliest opportunity.” It added: “That the full funding for the increase in National Insurance costs are passed onto West Lothian Council.”
For the SNP, Councillor Willie Boyle said: “ I really take exception to Damian’s comments about getting the begging bowl out. This is not about a begging bowl. This is about public representatives asking for public money. We are not in tight economic situation because of anything global that has come along. We are in this predicament because of Westminster government policy, plain and simple, and it’s not working for a lot of people.”
In a vote the Conservative amendment was defeated by 24 votes to eight in favour of the Labour/SNP composite motion.
