Council backs cost of living support amid household debt concerns

But concerns have been raised about the impact of council tax on household debt levels.

The plans were unveiled at Wrexham Council’s Executive Board meeting by Cllr David Bithell, the deputy leader of the council and Chair of the Cost of Living Working Group.

Utilising grants from the Welsh Government delivered via the Welsh Local Government Association, Wrexham Council will contribute £50,000 to Wrexham Foodbank this year and £60,000 next year.

This year’s contribution will be delivered in time to support families in need in the run-up to Christmas.

The authority will also provide £40,000 of local food partnership funding this year, with that money also available to the Wrexham Food Partnership Small Grants Programme before Christmas. That contribution will be repeated in 2026/27.

This work will be managed by Wrexham Council’s externally-funded Food Development Officer.

The authority has also pledged £60,000 per year from its small grants scheme to provide safe, warm spaces through 25/26 and 26/27.

Finally the Executive Board agreed to sign the Wrexham Poverty Action Collaboration (WPAC) Pledge, in which it promises to:

• Work and partner with WPAC to make positive changes for those with lived experiences poverty
• Work with the Financial Justice Working Group to gain lived experiences and identify the financial barriers that communities in Wrexham are facing.
• Help raise awareness of the Financial Justice Working Group (FJWG) and WPAC through conversation and social media.

The package of measures was agreed by the Cost of Living Crisis working group and the council’s anti-poverty champion Cllr Beverley Parry-Jones.

Praise

Council Leader Cllr Mark Pritchard praised the report, which was put together quickly after grant funding was confirmed to ensure support was in place for Christmas.

“This announcement did come late to us and we’ve moved at a very fast speed to get this report in front of us,” he said. “The most important thing is that we get this money out to the organisations and the food to the individuals who need it.

“We’ve had cross-party support on this from day one from everybody and I think that’s refreshing, that all parties are working together on this issue with regards to poverty.

“Thank you to all group leaders and parties for working together as one on this because we should put politics aside in this area.”

Arrears

Cllr Stella Matthews highlighted a concern over the impact of council tax debt on households.

“The Citizens Advice Bureau has issued a report on some of its outreach areas and in one the top debt issue was council tax debt,” she said. “I wondered if the committee could look at getting the figures for the whole of the borough because if that is a major issue in the cost of living it’s something we should take into account. I think members need to be aware of that.”

Cllr Bithell said the matter had been raised at the most recent meeting of the Cost of Living Working Group.

“We had a very detailed update on both rent arrears and council tax arrears,” he said. “Members who were present have asked for further information in December and a breakdown of what action the council are taking and support we are offering to residents.

“In terms of rent, internally within the housing department we have a small team looking at how we can support contract holders and recover some of our rent arrears.

“I think our rent arrears – based on 11,000 properties – is 2.8% which is quite low for Wales. Council tax is slightly different which is why we’ve asked for further information.

“We do understand that people are struggling and we need to support our constituents and our social housing contract holders with the cost of living crisis.”

Anti-poverty strategy

Cllr Dana Davies asked whether the new pledge would accelerate the publication of the authority’s anti-poverty strategy.

“By enforcing the WPCA pledge we are signing up to creating a comprehensive anti-poverty strategy for Wrexham,” she said.

“When is the expected timeframe for that strategy to come before the Executive Board for approval? I know it’s been sitting with scrutiny for two years and I understand the workload officers have got, but now we can increase the pace.”

Cllr Bithell said the strategy would be presented soon – although it may be early in the New Year.

“In terms of the anti-poverty strategy we will give a commitment, there is a political will to look at the strategy. That will come to the Cost of Living Working Group soon.

“It may not be December, probably January or February, ready for a decision in April.”