Meeting Details

This meeting will be webcast for live and subsequent broadcast on the Council's You Tube site Live Broadcast Link

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 Council area.  

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.

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; introducing a windfall tax on energy generators and redirect money towards supporting families; reverse the planned increase in National Insurance Contributions; and halt the planned change in red diesel entitlement.

That Mid Ulster District Council recognises the invaluable service that voluntary drivers offer to the community. Many seriously ill patients, particularly living in rural areas, depend on this service to attend appointments. By using their own vehicles, these volunteers save the Department of Health, via contracts with the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service and the Health Trusts, significant amounts of money per year.

Further to this recognition, that Mid Ulster District Council writes to the Department of Health to urge them to increase the current mileage allowance of 38p per mile currently paid to these voluntary drivers, as it is inadequate in offsetting their fuel and vehicle maintenance expenses.