Members received the report of the Executive Director which responded to questions raised by Members to establish the scale of child poverty and its effects within the Rother District, and how Council policy and services impacted on poverty, particularly when delivering key service functions such as the Housing Needs and Housing Benefit services.

The Chairman welcomed the Head of Service Housing and Community to the meeting, who led Members through the report.  Councillor Clark was also in attendance in his capacity as Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Housing, Welfare and Equalities.

The causes of poverty and child poverty were multiple and complex and the report focussed on poverty in general and not on child poverty exclusively. The environment in which partners operated to tackle poverty had changed in recent years, with new challenges to face following the financial crisis of 2008. While in the intervening period a welcome increase in rates of employment nationally had been seen, there had also been a reduction in public sector budgets as a result of the austerity agenda. The reductions in funding for public sector services had occurred in parallel with a rise in demand for social care and health services associated with supporting an ageing population.

The report recommended a more formal review of the causes of poverty be undertaken with an investigation of the role of Council services in supporting the delivery of effective solution with its partners.  Members were therefore asked to consider establishing an anti-poverty Task and Finish Group to that effect.  Members were also asked to consider as an alternative if changes could be made to existing Council policies or if discussions could be incorporated within the upcoming review of the Corporate Plan.

Members had the opportunity to ask questions and during the discussion, the following points were noted:

•           the recently published Indices of Deprivation 2019 provided further detailed information on poverty across the district, broken down by Ward and it was noted that many factors affecting poverty were beyond the control of the Council;

•           the Council’s current Council Tax Reduction Scheme (CTRS) provided relief from Council Tax up to a maximum of 80% for working households whilst pensioners remained on a nationally set scheme, which provided up to 100% relief from Council Tax; 

•           residents deserved to feel part of society by contributing and it was likely that many eligible pensioners had not accessed the CTRS;

•           Members felt that the focus of the Task and Finish Group should be on factors that the Council could change rather than analysing the causes of poverty, and to look at what practical measures could be taken locally; and

•           it was recommended and agreed that officers develop Terms of Reference for an Anti-Poverty Task and Finish Group comprising of six Members to bring back to the next meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

RESOLVED: That Terms of Reference be developed and brought back to the next meeting for an Anti-Poverty Task and Finish Group comprising of six Members to investigate the causes and effects of poverty locally and make recommendations to Cabinet to inform future Council policy.