Agenda item

Localisation of Council Tax Support: Consultation Response

Minutes:

Councillor Roger Ramsey, Cabinet Member for Value, introduced the report.

 

Previous reports to Cabinet had raised awareness of the Government’s intention to abolish the national Council Tax Benefit Scheme and enable Local Authorities to replace it with new local schemes from April 2013.

 

It was explained that Local Authorities had been challenged to devise and implement a local council tax support scheme within a limited period that would also meet a 10% reduction in Government expenditure.  For Havering, this was a financial pressure of £1.9 million which had been found primarily from the proposed council tax reforms and the new parameters for the local council tax support scheme.

 

The report and appendices summarised the proposed changes to discounts and exemptions arising from the council tax reforms and Havering’s draft local council tax support scheme. Details of the formal consultation with residents, persons affected and the Greater London Authority (GLA) were contained within the report. The Cabinet Member expressed his thanks to those members of the public who submitted responses to the consultation.

 

It was announced that Government Ministers had offered Councils a share of £100 million to assist the transition from council tax benefit to local council tax support, the details of which were also explained in the report.

 

In addition, the position with regard to funding the implementation and administration of the draft local scheme and the implications for council tax collection were addressed in the report.

 

Reasons for the decision:

The report was prepared as a result of the Local Government Finance Act 2012 which requires the Council to design a Local Council Tax Support Scheme to support people who are liable to pay Council Tax and who are in financial need.

 

Other options considered:

The options available were summarised in the detail of the report, with and a more detailed explanation provided in Appendix A of the report. The related equality impact assessments for each option could be found in the 11 July 2012 Cabinet Report papers.

 

 

Option

Projected

Saving £

 

Impacts

1. Absorb 10% reduction into council financial reserves.

1.9 mil

No impact on Council Tax Benefit claimants or wider Council Tax

2. Restrict Council Tax liability to 80% for benefit purposes.

1.9 mil

All working age Council Tax Benefit claimants

3. Reduce Council Tax Benefit by 18%

1.8 mil

All working age Council Tax Benefit claimants

4. Restrict benefit  to average band D award, increase taper & non dependant deductions

1.8 mil

All working age Council Tax Benefit claimants, particularly those with non-dependants in household.

5.  Restrict benefit  to average band D award, increase taper & non dependant deductions, reduce premiums

1.8 mil

All working age Council Tax Benefit claimants

6. Increase Council Tax in line with technical reforms.

1.8 mil

Direct impact on the wider Council Tax collection for residents with certain discounts and exemptions

7. Increase Council Tax for all tax payers by £22 per year.

1.85 mil

All residents in borough not claiming maximum CTS (approx 87,000)

8. Restrict benefit to band D, increase non dependant deductions, increase council tax for second homes in line with technical reforms.

1.8mil

Working age claimants who have non dependants or who reside in properties banded E to H. Also affects people who have second homes or homes that are not inhabited

 

Cabinet AGREED:

 

1.         To approve and recommend to Council the adoption of the proposed local council tax support scheme as set out in Appendices A & E of the report.

 

2.         To approve and recommend to Council the proposals to vary the discounts in respect of certain classes of empty dwellings as summarised in Appendix A of the report.

 

3.         To note the responses to consultation on council tax support and the council tax technical reforms

 

4.         To note the financial pressure of a £1.9 million reduction in government grant for council tax support in 2013/14.

 

5.         To note the content of the transitional grant scheme and recommend to full Council the deferral of the band D restriction to local council tax support to April 2014.

 

6.         To recommend to Council the delegation of responsibility to make any minor and consequential changes necessary to the detailed provision as a result of any changes to the draft regulations upon which the scheme is based to the Director of Finance & Commerce and the Portfolio Lead Member.

Supporting documents: