Agenda item

 Report by Michael Hudson, Associate Director - Finance, Revenues &    

         Benefits and Pensions

Public participation

Mrs Mary Jarvis, Clerk to Melksham Without Parish Council, addressed Cabinet and asked for a fairer grant for rural councils and parishes. Mrs Teresa Strong, Finance Officer for the Parish Council also addressed Cabinet on this issue. A copy of the statement and question submitted by Mrs Jarvis as tabled at the meeting are attached to the signed copy of these minutes. 

Cllr Dick Tonge, Cabinet member for Finance, Performance, Risk, Procurement and Welfare Reform presented a report which asked Cabinet to consider the Council Tax Support grant to town and parish councils for 2014/15 onwards.

From April 2013 Council Tax Support (formerly Council Tax Benefit) had taken the form of Council Tax Reductions (CTR) which had had the effect of reducing the Council Tax Base.

As a consequence, town and parish councils had experienced a decrease to their tax base which therefore decreased the amount of cash received for the same level percentage of precept. In 2013/14 Wiltshire Council awarded a grant totalling £1.4 million to top up the Town and Parish Council funding levels to compensate for this loss in funding.

Following further reductions in Central Government funding to Wiltshire Council, it was necessary to consider the options available in terms of providing support funding to Town and Parish Councils in 2014/15 and onwards.

Cabinet was asked to consider the following four options:

·                     Option 1 – Seek new additional funds from Central Government.

·                    Option 2 – Do nothing and continue with the grant at the same level as 2013/14.

·                    Option 3 – Pass the unringfenced grant adjusted by the Settlement Funding Assessment from DCLG without the Wiltshire Council top up to Town and Parish Councils.

·                    Option 4 – Withdraw all grant funding.

The report recommended approval of option 3. Some other authorities had decided not to pass their share of the Council tax support grant to their towns and parishes. It was noted that this Council had lobbied central Government extensively for a change to the scheme. The Leader urged town and parish councils to also lobby for a change. Details of the consultation undertaken with town and parish council and members were also reported.

Cllr Tonge reported that he had been contacted by Mr Morland who queried a £25k discrepancy in the figures. Cllr Tonge explained that the figures quoted were indicative at this stage pending full figures being provided by central Government and that Mr Hudson had responded to Mr Morland.

In response to Mrs Jarvis, it was explained that the level of precept was based on the number of properties, and the grant calculated was unrelated to the population. Council Tax Base was decided within a legislative framework, with bandings supplied from an external valuation office. Cabinet would be asked to determine its Council Tax Base at its meeting on 17 December 2013.

Resolved:

That Cabinet approves option 3 as follows:

1. That the Wiltshire Council grant to Town and Parish Councils be set at 65% of the 2013/14 grant to take into account the £300k shortfall in the 2013/14 Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) grant made up by Wiltshire Council, and the expected reduced level of Council’s Settlement Funding Assessment from DCLG.

2. That in future years the grant is adjusted in line with changes to the Council’s Settlement Funding Assessment from DCLG.

and that

3. The comments received as part of the consultation and shown at paragraph G in Appendix C of the report presented be addressed in a separate briefing to be sent to all Towns and Parishes.

Reason for decision

To provide financial support to Town and Parish Councils in the light of changes made to Council Tax Support by the Coalition.