Issue - meetings

To consider a report by the Head of Customer Services on the new Local Council Tax Support Scheme.

Noted the core principles and implications for the District Council of a local Council Tax Support Scheme which would replace the current national Council Tax Benefit Scheme from 1st April 2013.

With the assistance a report by the Head of Customer Services (a copy of which is appended in the Minute Book), the Cabinet were presented with details of a local Council Tax Support Scheme which would replace the current national Council Tax Benefit Scheme from 1st April 2013.

Members were informed that under the new arrangements the Council would be subjected to a reduction in funding of at least 10% which will have an impact on the £8.1m awarded in Council Tax Benefit per annum to around 9,400 claimants.  Executive Councillors were advised that pensioners and the most vulnerable claimants must be protected from any changes and receive the same amount of support that they would under the current scheme. In that respect, the Cabinet has concurred with the views of the Overview and Scrutiny Panel (Economic Well-Being) that the funding shortfall should not be passed onto the remaining recipients of support and that the Council should make up part of the difference. In that respect, Executive Councillors were advised that the Council would be in a position to offset some of the costs by generating extra income under the new Council Tax Support Scheme.

With regard to the current consultation exercise being undertaken on the new arrangements, Executive Councillors recognised that not all Council Tax payers would be consulted and concurred with the Panel that this should be taken into account when all the responses are analysed.

Whereupon, it was

RESOLVED

  that the contents of the report now submitted be noted.

To consider a report on the new local Council Tax Support Scheme.

Members of the Overview & Scrutiny Panel (Social Well-Being) have been invited to attend for the discussion on this item).

(Councillor J A Gray, Executive Councillor for Resources was in attendance for this item).

The Panel gave consideration to a report by the Head of Customer Services (a copy of which is appended in the Minute Book) providing an update on the progress made on the implementation of a new Council Tax Support Scheme. Members were informed that the new scheme had to be in place by 31^st January 2013 and that a consultation exercise with customers and stakeholders was scheduled to finish on 14 October 2012. Members’ attention was drawn to the principles which had been adopted towards the design of the new scheme and an analysis of the Council Tax Benefit caseload which gave a breakdown of where the changes were likely to be experienced.

Although the legislation had not yet been passed, Members were informed that the Government would reduce the funding which it provided to Councils to meet the cost of Council Tax support and it was estimated that this would equate to approximately £1.3m in 2013/14. Whilst some of the recipients were protected, Members were of the opinion that the whole reduction should not be passed on to the remaining recipients of support and that the Council should make up part of the difference.

Having been advised of the responses which had been received during the consultation to date, comment was made on the fact that not all Council Tax payers’ views had been actively sought and it might have been more widely distributed. In response, Members were advised of the efforts which had been made to promote the consultation and the Head of Customer Services emphasised the need to ensure that those affected were consulted to enable the Council to complete an impact assessment. Officers were requested to take these comments into account when the responses were analysed.

On behalf of the Social Well-Being Panel, Councillor S Criswell expressed the view that he was satisfied that the Council was taking steps to minimise the effects of the changes as far as possible and that if the Council was to make up the whole of the short-fall it would have to find an extra £1m in savings. In terms of the consultation exercise, he reiterated that the Council would have to take a decision of behalf of all Council Tax payers on the basis of the consultation responses received.

During the course of the ensuing discussion it was suggested that the Council might take steps to help those affected to move to properties in a lower Council Tax band. However, Members were informed that this already took place through the housing list and that Registered Social Landlords had a number of schemes to help their tenants to move. Comment was also made about the potential impact of the changes on the staffing resources within the Housing Team and Members noted that provision for additional resources to meet the additional demand had been included within the Financial Forecast.

Having noted that under the new scheme  ...  view the full minutes text for item 33