Issue - meetings

Reporting Person – Cllr A-M Barker, Leader of the Council

Councillor Barker provided a verbal update on the well-attended Cost of Living Summit held on 27 September 2022 at Eastwood Leisure Centre.  Following the Council declaring a Cost of Living Emergency in July 2022, a number of measures had been taken which included holding a Cost of Living Summit.  Some 70 people had taken part in the Summit from local charities and voluntary groups, Woking and Surrey councils, the Department of Work and Pensions and health service representatives.  Councillor Barker explained that the Summit had provided a useful opportunity for various organisations to come together to understand the scale of the crisis and to work together to strengthen collective efforts.  New opportunities to work together had already been recognised as a result of the Summit.  The Summit had included presentations from Citizens Advice Woking and Woking Foodbank, both of which had experienced substantial increases in requests for help and foodbank referrals.

The Executive was informed that Officers were currently pulling together the information gathered from the Summit in order to incorporate it into an Action Plan.  The Executive would receive a report at its meeting on 17 November 2022, and it was intended that the Executive would track progress on the Action Plan at subsequent meetings.

Information on where residents could access help was available on the Council’s website and information would also be included in the next Woking Magazine which would be delivered to every household in the Borough later in October.

The Cost of Living Summit was part of a pledge to support residents through the current Cost of Living crisis and the Executive thanked all those involved in facilitating the event.