Calls for Horsham to declare cost of living emergency
It comes amid a huge rise in those seeking help from local foodbanks
Horsham District Council is to be called on to declare a cost of living emergency.
With typical household energy bills expected to hit £3,549 a year from October 1, Liberal Democrat councillors want an emergency summit to be held to discuss ways to support Horsham residents – especially those in the most vulnerable households.
Roffey South councillor Sam Raby is expected to table a motion at a meeting of the full council on Wednesday (September 7th).
He said: “As it stands, government assistance to hard-pressed family budgets is a long way short of what’s needed.
“We need to do whatever we can at a local level to help protect our residents.”
The motion will call on the council to invite groups and organisations such as Age UK, Horsham Matters, Citizens Advice and the Red Cross, as well as local MPs, to a summit in the autumn.
Energy costs are not the only issue being faced by residents.
In the past year, the Horsham District Foodbank, which is run by Horsham Matters, has fed 11,000 people.
A message on the group’s Facebook page stated that, in June alone, 616 people received food from the foodbank – 228 of whom were children.
The figures were almost three-times those of October 2021, when 217 people were fed, including 71 children.
The full council meeting will be held at the Park Suite, in Parkside, from 6pm.