Dundee councillors are being urged to declare a cost of living emergency as food and fuel prices soar and household budgets are squeezed.
The city will become the first local authority in Scotland to raise the flag if councillors back a Liberal Democrat motion on Monday night.
It follows two Liberal Democrat controlled councils in England – Eastbourne Borough Council and Mendip District Council declaring cost of living emergencies late last month.
“We are really concerned about the crisis facing many Dundee households as food, fuel, energy and other bills go through the roof and given the many folk in Dundee who are already struggling financially, the situation is now very serious indeed,” Strathmartine ward councillor Daniel Coleman said.
“We hope for cross-party support in making this declaration and we are also calling on the council to lobby the UK government to immediately reduce the standard rate of VAT from 20% to 17.5% for one year, saving the average Dundee household a further £600 this year.
“We are also calling for the Westminster Government to immediately re-introduce the pensions triple lock to support Dundee’s pensioners, applying the triple lock formula from start of 2022/23 financial year and backdating payments.”
Eastbourne Borough Council, the first to make a declaration, announced a payment of £20,000 to Eastbourne Foodbank and a £250,000 cost of living emergency living grant days after.
Not ‘just an issue for lowest paid’
Councillor Coleman said action was needed to help struggling families in Scotland’s fourth city.
He said: “This isn’t just an issue for the lowest paid, it affects the squeezed middle just as much.
“We’re now living in a country where a few at the top do well, but everybody else is struggling.
“It is vital that the council highlights the situation and calls on government to take action to help households.”
The motion will be brought to Dundee City Council‘s Policy and Resources Committee for debate.
Cllr Coleman’s party colleague, West End councillor Michael Crichton, also said other forms of practical help for families – such as providing grants for cavity wall and loft insulation and new windows in poorly insulated homes – needed to progress with a greater intensity.
“Scottish Government figures suggest that over 610,000 Scottish households are living in fuel poverty with over 310,000 being in extreme fuel poverty,” he said.
“The number of households benefitting from the Warmer Homes Scotland initiative has been really low and it is vital that more households in Dundee are given help to make their homes better insulated to help with energy costs and keep their homes warmer.”
Conversation