Members of Swindon Borough Council’s Conservative cabinet say their cost-of-living motion to council this week is intended to help people in Swindon stay in work and get to work.

Both the labour group and the Conservative group have put forward motions to council aimed at getting the council to do what it can to help people as prices, particularly energy prices rocket.

The Conservative motion, proposed by the cabinet member for education and skills Oladapo Ibitoye asks the leader of the council David Renard to write to the Prime Minister urging the government to help.

As well as requesting additional funding to local authorities to help cash-strapped councils with the work they do in helping those in need, the motion says Coun Renard should urge the PM to: “ guarantee the Bus Recovery Grant for the foreseeable future so that bus companies can provide a wider service enabling residents to have a viable public transport alternative to using their cars” and to: “Exempt children’s nurseries from business rates.”

Although buses and nurseries might not the most obvious things to support in straitened circumstances, Coun Ibitoye said: “This is about helping people to stay in and get to work. If nurseries close then people will find it hard to go to work if they don’t have childcare.

“And we need buses to run so they can get to work. Not everybody has a car, and some people might want to drive less with the price of fuel so high- so allowing people to get to work is critical.”

Another part of the motion would instruct the cabinet member for C housing and public safety Cathy Martyn to set up a Feeding Swindon partnership to provide free or low-cost food, and other help, to those in need.

Coun Martyn said: “It would be like the Feeding Britain network – there are two pilots in this in Swindon, one run by the Salvation Army and another by the West Swindon Group of Churches.

“We’d take the learning from those – and the council would be the facilitator but community groups or charities would organise and run the different centres. We would provide signposting to other help- debt advice, or advice on avoiding debt, or help with mental health – money worries can really impact on people’s health.”

Labour’s motion, proposed by Coun Paul Dixon says Coun Renard should bring a report to cabinet detailing ways in which the council can help – and suggests insulating homes as a priority.

It also says the council should urge the government that funding for limited fuel bills and a cut of VAT on home energy should come “primarily from a windfall tax on the energy-producing companies.”

The council meeting starts at 7pm on Thursday September 29