Issue - meetings

Report by Carolyn Godfrey, Corporate Director

Councillor Dick Tonge presented the report which asked Cabinet’s to recommend to the meeting of Council that it agree proposals to make changes to the Council Tax Reduction Scheme (CTR) with effect from April 2017.

Issues highlighted in the course of the presentation and discussion included: the suggestion to bring the process more in line with other regulations for other benefits; the responses to the consultation; the number of households who receive support; that the changes would not affect pensioners, but just working age people; the principles applied for the review; that there is a scheme that can be accessed to assist people who may get into financial difficulties.

In response to concerns raised by Councillor Glenis Ansell, Councillor Tonge stated that they had considered how the changes may affect those individuals and families already in debt, and that the Council does work carefully with vulnerable families in particular.

Resolved

To recommend to Council to agree changes to the council tax reduction scheme as set out at section 18 of this report, with effect from April 2017.

Reason for Decision:

It is an annual requirement for the council to review its local Council Tax Reduction (CTR) scheme and make recommendations for change as required.

Since its introduction in April 2013 the scheme has been ‘refreshed’ annually to take account of minor data changes, but the core elements have been retained.

However in the last 18 months there have been some changes to the national housing benefit scheme and it was felt that without timely intervention the schemes would drift apart causing both administrative difficulties and confusion for the customer. With further reductions in funding it was felt that the scheme should also be reviewed, in comparison with other local authorities.