YVONNE FOVARGUE MP: Cancel council tax rise plan now

Councils are on the frontline delivering the services that people rely on and which support and enrich our communities every day.

I pay tribute to care staff, refuse collectors, social workers and all local government staff for their significant contribution in the national effort to deal with COVID-19.

Central Government funding to local authorities has fallen in every year since 2010.

According to the National Audit Office, total funding across England has fallen in real terms by 56.3% over the last decade. The Local Government Association (LGA) equates this to a £15 billion reduction since 2010.

Despite financial pressures, the response of our local authorities during the pandemic has been remarkable.

They have continued to provide social care for elderly and disabled people under very difficult circumstances, found accommodation for rough sleepers at short notice, administered billions of pounds of business rates relief in grants for local businesses, and they have co-ordinated support for people in vulnerable groups who have been shielding.

At the start of this pandemic, the Government pledged to do “whatever is necessary” to support local councils.

Yet financial pressures are affecting local authorities’ ability to provide essential services.

Indeed, the LGA estimates that councils face a COVID-19 funding gap of £2.6 billion this year.

Rather than listening to councils and giving them the resources they need, the Government is instead asking them to increase council taxes across the country at a time when the UK economy faces the worst recession in three centuries.

I am concerned that any council tax increase would impact families who are already worried about the future of their jobs and how they will make ends meet.

I believe Ministers should cancel this tax rise and provide councils with the support, national leadership and focus they deserve.

Health and social care workers have been at the heart of the fight against coronavirus, working day and night to protect the NHS and save lives.

They do so much to make our health service one to be proud of and they deserve our respect, admiration and full support.

I share the disappointment felt by many that the Chancellor has announced a pay freeze for millions of public sector workers.

I do not believe this decision is fair to those frontline workers who have given so much throughout this pandemic.

While NHS staff will be exempt from this freeze, the Government confirmed that decisions on their pay would not be reviewed until the spring, when the current pay deal ends.

Instead of waiting until later this year, when staff on the Agenda for Change scheme were already due to have their pay reviewed, I believe the Government should show NHS staff the same commitment they have shown our country throughout this pandemic.

The Government must commit to the pay talks that NHS workers deserve now and put together a proper solution for recruitment and retention.

As we know, valuing our NHS and care workforce through fair pay and conditions is crucial to tackling vacancies.

I believe that any new deal for NHS staff must be agreed as soon as possible, in recognition of their bravery and the sacrifices they have made during the pandemic.

More widely, I will continue to campaign against the Government’s proposed pay freeze for millions of other public sector workers, including care workers.

For too long, many of those on the frontline have been undervalued and underpaid.

I believe we owe them and the whole country a vision of a better future when we come through this pandemic.

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