MVDC Signs End Poverty Pledge

At the 15 July Council Meeting, there was unanimous agreement to sign the End Poverty Pledge and to add Poverty as a consideration in all Equality Impact Assessments on new Council policies.

As an organisation, MVDC is committed to working towards a poverty-free future in Surrey: 

• We will show respect and compassion to anyone who is struggling financially.
• We will look at how our own actions can make life easier for people in financial hardship and help lift them out of poverty.
• We will join in wider efforts to raise awareness and tackle poverty in our local community.

There are several pockets of poverty within Mole Valley, with increasing numbers of residents facing difficulties due to the cost-of-living crisis.

Cabinet Member Rosemary Hobbs attended the East Surrey Poverty Truth Commission from 2023. That was set up by Epsom-based charity The Good Company, who run local foodbanks and community support, including at the Leatherhead Hub. Cllr Hobbs, who brought the End Poverty Pledge motion to Full Council, says:

“Meeting with people with lived experience of being in poverty, and representatives of other organisations who deliver services and support to communities, gave me the opportunity to reflect on how our policies and procedures impact people who find themselves in financial difficulty at some point in their lives. 

What I learned is that people in difficulty want to feel listened to and supported to find appropriate help, such as applying for benefits or approaching outside agencies and charities, and to be treated with respect. 

In bringing this motion to Council, I was proud to find out how Mole Valley’s culture and values already support the aims of the Poverty Pledge. Our values include ‘we listen’, ‘we care’ and ‘we respect’.  The Council Strategy contains a Priority of Fairness: “Supporting individuals and communities to lead safe, healthy and fulfilling lives.”  

The Council website has lots of information on its Community page (https://www.molevalley.gov.uk/community/), providing links to various sources of support and information, and the Customer Services Unit gets very positive feedback on the helpfulness of staff answering phone enquiries. 

Also, as a living wage employer, all staff are offered flexible hours and hybrid working and are actively encouraged to develop their skills, including via apprenticeships.  

Two jewels in our crown are the grant funding that MVDC provides to support Citizen’s Advice in Mole Valley and ESDAS (East Surrey Domestic Abuse Service), and the free holiday activities that have been provided for young people over the last few years to reduce the burden of cost for families in school holiday periods. These are discretionary services that we have fought hard to retain.

Use of discretionary hardship powers in relation to Council Tax and Housing payments are regularly arranged to enable residents to manage debt. 

So why is this important now, when Mole Valley District Council will cease to exist in 2027 and elections will be held next year for the shadow Unitary Authorities that will replace the current two-tier County and District Council structure? Of course, the Liberal Democrats will be working hard to maximise the number of seats we win on the Unitary Councils with the aim of being in the majority. And we have a very strong base here in Mole Valley. 

I hope that this culture, the sentiments expressed in the End Poverty Pledge and the discretionary services we have chosen to provide, reflect Liberal Democrat values and will be carried forward into the shadow Unitary Councils next May.”