Belfast City Council has called for the introduction of emergency legislation to release £300 million from Stormont for those struggling to pay energy bills.
At a special meeting of the full council on Monday (March 14), the chamber carried a Sinn Fein motion, with an SDLP addition, calling for action from Stormont to release funds, as well as tax changes from Westminster, and money to be made available from the council in a new city hardship fund.
The motion received support from Sinn Fein, the SDLP, Alliance, the Green Party and People Before Profit. It was opposed by the DUP, the UUP, and the PUP.
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Belfast City Council is again now the largest fully functioning democratic institution in Northern Ireland, following the resignation of DUP First Minister Paul Givan, which has left a shadow Executive that cannot meet, with ministers that can only implement previously agreed business before this May’s assembly elections. Sinn Fein and the DUP disagree as to whether or not £300 million can be released from Stormont’s coffers in its present state.
The Belfast City Council motion states: “This council recognises with deep concern the cost-of-living crisis that is impacting hundreds of thousands of families across our society, and the rise in home energy and electricity costs, which has placed a severe burden on already struggling households and businesses across our city.
“The collapse of the Executive caused by the resignation of DUP First Minister Paul Givan is preventing a budget or the allocation of £300m available from Treasury from being agreed, and is hampering ministers from using their full spending power to give people relief who rely and depend upon it.
“This council calls for the immediate restoration of the Executive in order to allocate and agree spending to support workers and families, or the introduction of emergency legislation to release the £300 million. This would include requesting an expansion of the £200 home energy scheme to include others considered particularly vulnerable at this time.”
It adds: “Furthermore, this council calls upon the Westminster Government to take action where local ministers cannot, by scrapping VAT on domestic energy bills and cutting duty on home heating oil, petrol and diesel for the duration of the energy crisis, by introducing a windfall tax on energy generators and redirecting money towards supporting families, by reversing the planned increase in National Insurance contributions, and by halting the planned change in red diesel entitlement.
“And finally this council agrees to present members with further proposals including additional resources at the earliest opportunity to create a citywide hardship fund to support those most in need at this time.”
The DUP wanted the second paragraph referencing the first minister's resignation to be removed, but this was not accepted. A People Before Profit amendment was voted down by Sinn Fein, the DUP and the UUP. The Green Party's Mal O'Hara said the debate saw "electoral grandstanding from some."
The Sinn Fein motion received an amendment from the SDLP’s Brian Heading calling for emergency legislation to release the £300 million for those struggling to pay energy bills.
Councillor Heading said: “It’s not about who is responsible for the Executive not functioning, it’s not about the matter of the resignation.
“It’s about the fact that this council can put pressure on the assembly, to not only come back and meet in relation to the £300 million, but also if that fails to introduce emergency legislation.”
He added: “If there is an attempt here, because of the election that is coming up in May, to score points over one another - that’s not what people want us to do. They want action, and those who can do it the quickest are those up in Stormont, who are getting paid in a lovely building, which I may add is being heated with public money.
“They are in a better position up there talking about it, or not talking about it as the case may be, than those at home having to worry about whether they are going to eat today or heat their home.”
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