Agenda item

The following Motions were received:

Rural Strategy

Council resolves to:

·       Bring forward a Council-led Rural Strategy, similar in format to the Boston Town Centre Strategy and Action Plan 2023-2027 within 1 year of the 16th of September 2024.

·       Boston Borough Council create this strategy in consultation with Borough Councillors, Parish Council’s, relevant Rural Voluntary/Residents’ Groups, and Rural Residents on issues/action points in these communities.

The recommendations within the Motion were moved by Councillor James Cantwell and seconded by Councillor Claire Rylott.

Councillor Anne Dorrian moved an amendment and proposed that the motion be referred to Cabinet for consideration. This was seconded by Councillor Dale Broughton.

Members discussed the recommendation and the following comments were made:

·       Some Members were of the opinion that the motion should instead be referred to Scrutiny for consideration followed by Cabinet and then Full Council, if required. Other Members agreed that the motion should be referred to Cabinet in the first instance.

·       The population figures on the Council’s website appeared to be incorrect as opposed to the most recent Census.

·       Cabinet was the responsible body for developing new policies.

The amended recommendation was moved by Councillor Anne Dorrian and seconded by Councillor Dale Broughton.

RESOLVED:

That the substantive motion be referred to Cabinet for further consideration.

Changes to the Winter Fuel Allowance and Protecting Pensioners from Fuel Poverty

Council resolves to:

·       Bring forward a Council-led local awareness campaign to alert those eligible of Pension Credit which in some respects will help access to the Winter Fuel Payment for those most in need.

·       Request that the Council Leader write to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, urging a review of the decision to means-test the Winter Fuel Payment and asking the government to ensure that vulnerable pensioners, particularly those who do not claim Pension Credit, are protected from fuel poverty.

·       Commit the Council to signing the ‘Save the Winter Fuel Payment for Struggling Pensioners’ petition being run by Age UK and write to all members offering them the opportunity to sign the petition themselves.

·       Encourage local efforts to promote Pension Credit uptake through partnerships with local charities and community organisations to that all eligible pensioners in Boston Borough are supported in claiming their entitlement.

The recommendations were moved by Councillor James Cantwell and seconded by Councillor Stuart Evans.

The Leader advised that she had a number of amendments, as follows:

·       The second bullet point (within Council notes), the estimated impact of the decision, had gone up from 2 million to 2.5 million.

·       The addition of the word ‘some’ in the third bullet point (within Council notes): ‘The significant role that Winter Fuel Payments play in helping some older residents of Boston Borough’.

·       The removal of the word and from the last line of the second bullet point (within Council believes): ‘that sit just above the cut-off for Pension Credit will now lose their allowance’.

·       The addition of the words ‘some of’ in the third bullet point (within Council believes): ‘affect the health and well-being of some of our poorest older residents’.

·       The removal of the words ‘bring forward a’ and the addition of ‘Acknowledge the’ from the first bullet point (within Council resolves to): ‘Acknowledge the Council-led local awareness campaign’.

·       The removal of the words ‘Commit the Council to signing the ‘Save the Winter Fuel Payment for Struggling Pensioners’ petition being run by Age UK and’ and the addition of ‘Age UK’ in the third bullet point (within Council resolves to): ‘write to all members offering them the opportunity to sign the Age UK petition themselves’

·       The removal of the word ‘encourage’ and the addition of ‘Continue our’ from the fourth bullet point (within Council resolves to): ‘Continue our local efforts to promote Pension Credit’.

Members discussed the amended recommendations and confirmed their support. It was requested that details of the Council led awareness campaign to be shared with councillors.

The amended recommendation were moved by Councillor Anne Dorrian and seconded by Councillor Dale Broughton.

RESOLVED:

That Council resolves to: 

·       Acknowledge the Council-led local awareness campaign to alert those eligible of Pension Credit which in some respects will help access to the Winter Fuel Payment for those most in need;

·       Request that the Council Leader write to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, urging a review of the decision to means-test the Winter Fuel Payment and asking the government to ensure that vulnerable pensioners, particularly those who do not claim Pension Credit, are protected from fuel poverty;

·       Write to all members offering them the opportunity to sign the Age UK petition themselves; and

·       Continue our local efforts to promote Pension Credit uptake through partnerships with local charities and community organisations to that all eligible pensioners in Boston Borough are supported in claiming their entitlement.

[Councillors Stephen Woodliffe, Paul Gleeson, Richard Austin, Alison Austin and Peter Bedford left the meeting at 8.00p.m., prior to consideration of the Changes to the Winter Fuel Allowance and Protecting Pensioners from Fuel Poverty Motion.]