Decision

(A) Unpaid
Carers   It was moved by Councillor Bellenger,                                    Seconded
by Councillor Prashad   RESOLVED that:   This
Council notes that:   Nationally, nearly six million people act as
unpaid carers for their loved ones. While many are able to
take paid employment around their caring responsibilities, many are not:
it depends on the level and frequency of the care provided. The National Unpaid Carers Union and Forum
estimates that the care provided by family members and friends saves the
UK economy £164 billion each year – a figure that is expected to rise. Many of those providing unpaid care are
themselves elderly or very young.   This
Council believes that:   A huge debt of gratitude is owed to those
providing unpaid care. Carers can suffer financially, mentally and
physically due to the nature of the help they provide. While unpaid carers do not seek financial
advantage from providing care, nor should they be financially
disadvantaged. Any withdrawal of the support provided by
unpaid carers would have significant detrimental implications for the
NHS and adult social care providers, such as this Council.   This
Council therefore resolves to:   Support the calls by The National Unpaid Carers
Union and Forum for the government to review its policies around
Universal Credit and Carer’s Allowance with a view to better helping
unpaid carers financially. Call upon individual Councillors to support
this campaign. Contact the Borough’s two Members of
Parliament, seeking their support for this campaign. Contact the relevant government department
directly, expressing its support for a review of Universal Credit and
Carer’s Allowance, as outlined above. Support and promote Young Carers Action Days. Request that the Adults, Health and Social Care
Scrutiny Board, and the Children and Young People’s Scrutiny Board consider
the proposal and determine the most appropriate way forward to undertake
a review of the support provided to carers by this Council with a view
to suggesting what improvements could be made.   (B) Tackling
Child Poverty   The
Leader addressed Council and requested approval to amend their Motion by
removing the final bullet point on the Resolution following the Government’s
Budget announcement in relation to the removal of the two-child benefit cap.   It was moved by the Leader,                                      
Seconded by Councillor Webster   Upon
being put to the vote, the Amendment to remove the final bullet point was
carried.     It was moved by Councillor Durrans,                                      
Seconded by Councillor Webster   RESOLVED that:   This
Council notes:   Entrenched
poverty is an indictment of our country: a record 4.5 million children in
Britain are estimated to be living in poverty. We have a duty to support all
children to have a good start in life. Office for National Statistics figures
indicate that there are 30.4% of children aged under 16 living in families
with relatively low income in Calderdale (before housing costs), which is
well above the UK average of 21.8% and the same as the Yorkshire and the
Humber regional average of 30.4%.   There
can be no doubt that poverty costs our country and blights the future of our
children. There is in many ways, both a moral and a financial imperative to
tackle its root causes.   The
June 2025 UNICEF UK report ‘Held back from the start: the impact of
deprivation on early childhood’, has found that across a range of key
indicators, young children living in areas with higher levels of deprivation
and child poverty have poorer outcomes. They are more likely to experience
obesity and severe dental decay and present in emergency health settings; and
are less likely to reach a ‘good level of development’ in school reception
class.   There
are 39,940 children aged 0 – 15 in the Calderdale district, of whom 30.4%, or
12,150, are living in relative poverty. This is an increase on the numbers of
children living in poverty back in 2015, when 20.7% of children were living
in relative poverty in Calderdale. Shockingly, two thirds of these children
are living in working households, including where there are adults in part
time work.   Working
with the West Yorkshire Mayor, we are committed as a Council to delivering
regeneration, creating better housing and creating more
good and well-paid jobs in Calderdale, which are key to improving
people’s lives in the longer term.   The
Council also notes that we already provide a range of support services, with
over 30 partner agencies, to tackle and alleviate poverty in the Calderdale
borough through the Anti-Poverty Action plan. This has three pillars:   Prevention – stopping families from falling
into poverty.   Intervention – supporting those already in
poverty to recover.   Resilience – giving families tools to stay out
of poverty.   This
includes (delivered or funded by Calderdale Council):   Delivery of the Healthy Holidays programme –
7,101 children participated in activities delivered by 22 providers in
summer 2025.   Joined up support and early help for families
across the borough through our 15 Family Hubs in five hub areas.   Provision of information to families via the
Family Hubs and Calderdale Start for Life websites.   Promotion of the take up of Early years funded
places, with an additional 132 additional children supported, allowing
parents to return to work.   Reduction of school exclusions and improved
school readiness for reception.   Provision of support for the coordination of
emergency food parcels.   Development of a network of money guiders to
support families in managing money and benefits, as well as avoiding and
dealing with loan sharks.   Increased access to advice for those struggling
with fuel poverty and utility bills.   Work with the voluntary sector and Credit Union
to ensure every child has access to school uniform essentials, via
savings schemes and donated uniforms.   Enabling children to be more
healthy and active through Active Calderdale projects, including
refurbished playgrounds, improved green spaces and ‘Beat the Streets’.   Welcomed the news of £20 million of funding for
Mixenden and surrounding areas, as part of the
government’s Pride in Place programme.   Extension of the Warm Homes Discount, meaning
an extra £150 per eligible household.   This
Council welcomes the Labour government’s mission “to break down the barriers
to opportunity for every child, at every stage and (to) shatter the class
ceiling” as well as to “tackle the structural and root causes of child
poverty”.   This
Council also welcomes the government’s measures so far to tackle child
poverty, including opening free breakfast clubs in every primary school,
cutting the cost of school uniforms, increasing the national minimum wage for
those on the lowest incomes and ensuring over half a million more children
can access a free school meal.   This
Council resolves:   To ask officers and Members to build on this
good work as a borough and commit to further efforts to tackle
inequalities, particularly child poverty.   Our commitments, or priorities, already include
reducing inequalities by ‘starting well’ and ‘developing well’, ensuring
children are ready for school and that every 15-year-old has hope and
aspiration, and all political parties represented on the Council are
asked to take these commitments into account when developing the budget
for the next three years.   To write and invite the members of Labour’s
Child Poverty Task Force to visit Calderdale and work with them to build
on our actions to mitigate and tackle root causes of child poverty.