- 24/02/2023
- Posted by: Canterbury Labour
- Category: News
Last September Labour councillors asked the Tory Leader of the Council to appoint a cross party working group on the cost of living. We suggested, so was the scale of the problem, that we avoid all the bureaucracy and roll up our sleeves to ensure that the council was there to provide support to residents before the worst of the winter set in. Cllr Ben Fitter Harding refused.
After four months of Labour pressure the council agreed to appoint a cost-of-living co-ordinator in January but haven’t given them a budget.
In the meantime, neighbouring councils have been running council sponsored advice and information sessions where residents can speak to services and get high quality advice on housing, debt and benefit issues – ours hasn’t. When other councils have led the way in co-ordinating and advertising warm hubs – our Labour councillors have had to do it for Canterbury and Whitstable.
This week local councillors and the Office of Rosie Duffield MP ran two cost of living workshops at Whitstable Umbrella Centre and Canterbury Baptist Church. Both events included representatives from Age UK, Canterbury Foodbank, Canterbury CAB, South East Water and Red Zebra.
In Whitstable we also welcomed Growbaby which provides free baby equipment, The Community Wardrobe offering free school uniform, St Vincent De Paul, Christians Against Poverty, The Community Clothes Bank and Whitstable Toys who provided free toys and books.
In Canterbury we welcomed the RSPCA, Connecting Canterbury and Southern Water.
“Both events were a fantastic opportunity to meet people and help spend time with organisations helping tackle food poverty across our district” said Liam Waghorn, Warehouse Manager at Canterbury Foodbank. “We are really lucky to have a local MP doing something positive on the cost of living crisis”.
“During this cost of living crisis it is Labour which has been providing practical support and action on the ground” said Cllr Val Kenny.
