The Spring Statement let down thousands of Southwark residents who are struggling with spiralling energy bills and food prices.
We should have seen a hike in Universal Credit for the 38,000 claimants in our borough, instead we got a hike in National Insurance.
I was pleased that the Mayor included my specific ask for benefit payments to be uprated to keep up with the spike in the cost of living, in his wider lobbying of the Government, ahead of the Spring Statement. This was sadly ignored by the Chancellor.
Recent stats have also shown that rents have risen in South London by ten per cent. But instead of raising Local Housing Allowance or providing the Mayor with powers to introduce rent controls, the Chancellor gave a tax cut to landlords. It is as if renters don’t exist.
The fuel duty cut of 5p, announced to great fanfare, is also unlikely to make much of a difference to stretched household budgets. Neither will a tax cut scheduled to take place in two years time. Struggling parents need help now to feed their families and the choice between heating or eating is unacceptable.
To free up funding to ensure those on the lowest incomes can get the proper help to weather this storm, we needed to see a windfall tax on oil and gas companies who are making colossal profits.
New initiative brings food to hard up households in Southwark
I raised my concerns about the Chancellor’s cop-out Spring Statement with Sadiq Khan at last week’s Mayor’s Question Time. In response he said that “it usually takes three or four days for a Budget to unravel, this one unravelled within minutes”.
A worrying knock on effect of the Government’s lack of action is that independent food banks are being pushed to breaking point, with reports that increasing food costs are leading to a significant drop in donations.
To help with this, City Hall has recently joined up with the Council and the charity, Hubbub, to fund a new initiative to redistribute surplus food from supermarkets to people across Southwark.
In addition, I have obtained figures showing that The Mayor’s Kitchen Social scheme has also provided almost 11,000 of the poorest children in the borough with a safe place to go during the school holidays where they can socialise, make new friends and get a free, healthy meal.
Finally, my heart goes out to all Ukrainian Londoners and refugees. It has been inspiring to see that 120 families in Southwark so far, have signed-up to take people into their homes and is a testament to the community spirit of the borough.
It is crucial that the Government gets its act together and makes it easier for those fleeing Putin’s invasion to find sanctuary in our capital and our country. Our current visa system is putting thousands of the most vulnerable refugees at risk and is a mark of national embarrassment when compared with the much more humane approach of many of our European neighbours.