Announcements of the Leader of the Council.
Minutes:
Councillor Garry Purdy, Leader of the Council, made the following statement:
“In the 1970’s OPEC affected the price of oil, and by 1973 inflation was raging up to 17%, and soon after to 25%. It bought the Heath Government down. My Wife and I had just bought our first house, the oldest cottage in Matlock built circa 1754 and if it was not for the help of our Parents we would have sunk. And so I understand and sympathize with those that are suffering today
With the benefit of hindsight, life in 1970 appears to have been ludicrously cheap. A loaf of bread cost 9p and the average weekly wage was around £32. Today, a loaf costs £1.37 and average weekly wages are circa £500.00 to £600.00.
I thought it would be useful to inform you, with thanks to Rob & Tim, on what the Authority is doing to help the vulnerable:
1. Home insulation scheme – We have already improved over 200 homes in the social and private sectors.
2. Debt reduction and income increases – our ongoing support through our own Home Options service, plus our work with Citizens Advice and Age UK both increases income and reduces debt by £1.5million per year for Derbyshire Dales residents
3. Our own Council housing – we let this out at affordable Social Rents, pegged at the Local Housing Allowance rate meaning they are the lowest rents chargeable in the affordable housing sector
4. We are achieving Energy Performance Certificate B ratings on all our retrofit Council homes including solar panels and battery technology. Our new build properties will achieve EPCA A ratings
5. We are supporting Notts Community Housing Association with a grant of £0.5million to build the most energy efficient social housing scheme in the District, being off gas and heated by air source heat pumps and solar panels
6. Our work with Almshouses Charities is improving some of the worst performing energy efficient homes in the District, reducing bills for those on the lowest income.
7. By the end of October we will have distributed £300,000 of the Household Support Fund to residents at risk of eviction from rent arrears and helping others to furnish and move into affordable housing, about 500 people in total
8. We support a range of voluntary and community sector organizations to help our residents through providing food, advice and legal representation
9. The District Councils Homelessness Team continue to assist those threatened with homelessness and support residents to either keep their existing tenancy or find a new home
10. We are targeting action in private rented housing to aim for an at least EPC E rating energy efficiency
11. We are providing community advice on energy efficiency and taking our Exhibition around the Derbyshire Dales through the use of the Fantastic Homes exhibition
12. There is a lot of investigative work with our Partners such as Derbyshire County Public Health on a Warm Spaces initiative, whereby public spaces are opened up to those who have difficulty keeping themselves warm
13. And as you know we are decarbonizing our own buildings to reach our Climate Change Policy of Zero carbon by 2030
Derbyshire County Council is also carrying out similar work in the County and anyone in need of help and assistance is advised to contact Call Derbyshire on Tel:
01629 533190.
Finally, myself and Andrew Stokes, Chief Executive of High Peak are Leading on a Vision Derbyshire project entitled Proactive Communities and which covers five themes – Domestic Violence – Community Impact Assessment re Covid – The Voluntary Community Sector – Social Care and the Walk Derbyshire health initiative.”