Agenda item

To consider the following motions on the theme submitted by members of the council:

·  Putting Residents’ Welfare First

·  Welfare Reform.

(See pages 6 – 11 of the main agenda)

Motion 1 and Amendment A on the themed debate had been withdrawn and the meeting had previously agreed to suspend council assembly procedure rules so that there could be a single debate on Motion 2 and Amendments B and C and a change in speakers on Motion 2 and Amendment B - Councillor Claire Hickson would second the motion and Councillors Tim McNally and Adele Morris would move and second Amendment B .

MOTION 1 - PUTTING RESIDENTS’ WELFARE FIRST

(See pages 4 – 5 of the main agenda)

Motion 1 and Amendment A were withdrawn.

MOTION 2 - WELFARE REFORM

(See pages 4 - 5 of the main agenda)

Councillor Neil Coyle, seconded by Councillor Claire Hickson, moved the motion. 

Councillor Tim McNally, seconded by Councillor Adele Morris, moved Amendment B.

Councillor Michael Mitchell, seconded by Councillor Lewis Robinson, moved Amendment C.

Following debate (Councillors Helen Hayes, Eliza Mann, Mark Williams, David Noakes, Gavin Edwards, Graham Neale, Patrick Diamond, Mark Gettleson and Dora Dixon-Fyle), and points of personal explanation from Councillors Anood Al-Samerai and Neil Coyle, the Mayor announced that the time allocated to the themed section of the meeting had expired.  The clerk announced that the amendments and the substantive motion would be voted on separately.

Vote on Motion 2 and Amendments A and B – Welfare Reform

Amendment B was put to the vote and declared to be lost.

Amendment C was put to the vote and declared to be lost.

The substantive motion was put to the vote and declared to be carried.

RESOLVED:

That council assembly:

1.  Is gravely concerned by the impact the Tory Liberal Democrat government’s welfare reforms is having on Southwark’s most vulnerable residents.

2.  Notes that more than 10% of Southwark’s population are affected by the range of welfare cuts. More than 4,000 by the bedroom tax, over 24,000 by the government’s £2.8m council tax benefit cut (including over 16,000 who are in work), thousands by changes to DLA beginning this year and hundreds more by the benefit cap from later this year.

3.  Notes that local advice and support organisations are seeing a steep rise in demand for help. Over 500 people were fed by foodbanks in Southwark in April alone (compared with 100 in April 2012) and the provider estimates 30 tons of food will need to be distributed to meet demand this year. 10% of the recipients are in work. Southwark’s Citizen Advice Bureaux saw a 40% jump in demand for help this year but legal aid cuts mean the loss of the equivalent of 4 full time advisors across Southwark Legal Advice Network.

4.  Notes the action taken by the council to deal with these changes including:

·  Labour’s £800,000 Hardship Fund; £400k of which is targeted towards local disabled people and carers

·  An extra £400,000 went into helping people downsize homes to avoid the bedroom tax

·  The Social Fund replacement scheme (the Southwark Emergency Support Scheme)

·  More than 700 people have been supported face to face at the partnership events – Southwark’s partnership work is being held up by (national) Citizens Advice as an example of good practice and a model for other councils to adopt.

5.  Regrets Simon Hughes’s unequivocal support for the government’s welfare reforms despite claiming the benefits cap would “drive families apart”. It also regrets that Simon Hughes has dismissed reports of a fivefold increase in people claiming discretionary housing payments as “alarmist”. It regrets that he has refused to meet with local organisation such as Cooltan Arts to discuss the impact of the reforms and that he missed the “Frontline Welfare” event despite being specifically asked to attend.

6.  Calls on cabinet to:

·  Continue to work constructively with advocacy groups in the borough to ensure we are able to continue to support our most vulnerable residents

·  Lobby the Department of Work and Pensions for increased funding for discretionary housing payments

·  Continue to challenge Simon Hughes and the Liberal Democrats regarding their role in enabling the government’s welfare changes.

Note: This motion will be referred as a recommendation to the cabinet for consideration.