A LACK of inclusion of poverty issues tainted Cheshire West cabinet’s endorsement of its new four-year plan.

The plan, called ‘Stronger Futures: A Four Year Plan for Recovery and Renewal following COVID-19’, will manage and direct much of the council’s work in the next four years as the borough bounces back from the pandemic.

However yesterday’s (December 2) cabinet meeting featured complaints by fellow Labour Cllr Mandy Clare, who is the leader’s champion for poverty and inequality, that the document failed to include enough material on the borough’s poverty emergency.

“I have shared with colleagues some of the contents on the recovery plan alongside the poverty truth advisory board which have not been included in the report,” Cllr Clare told members.

The Winsford Dene representative added: “The plan now fails to learn some of the [lessons] set out in the poverty emergency.”

Cllr Clare’s complaints are significant as CWAC declared a poverty emergency at the last full council meeting in October, as she told that meeting poorer people ‘are at twice the risk of dying from Covid-19’, and declaring such an emergency would ‘put poverty at the top of the list’.

A number of cabinet members defended the four-year plan, which also received support from the Conservative group, with Cllr Matt Bryan commenting: “I see these issues stitched throughout [the plan]. The whole report feeds into this.

“This is a blueprint which can be worked on and is something really important.”

His sentiments were also supported by Cllrs Gahan and Shore.

Ultimately, the meeting concluded with the cabinet’s official endorsement of the plan after leader Cllr Louise Gittins offered to meet with Cllr Clare’s poverty truth board to discuss her qualms.

It includes a swathe of recommendations to the council, including measures on business support and new ways of working.