Decision Maker: Council

Outcome: Recommendations Approved

Is Key Decision?: No

Is Callable In?: No

Date of Decision: November 26, 2025

Purpose:

Content: (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.