Issue - items at meetings - KD 3588 Council Tax Support Scheme

Issue - meetings

KD 3588 Council Tax Support Scheme

Meeting: 23/01/2013 - Cabinet (Item 7)

7 COUNCIL TAX SUPPORT LOCAL SCHEME UPDATE pdf icon PDF 322 KB

 A report from the Director of Finance, Resources and Customer Services is attached. This updates Members on the progress of the Council Tax Support Local Scheme.  (Key decision – reference number 3588)

(Report No.138)

(8.30 – 8.35 pm)

Minutes:

Councillor Doug Taylor (Leader of the Council) introduced the report of the Director of Finance, Resources and Customer Services (No.138) updating Members on the Council Tax Support Local Scheme.

 

Alternative Options Considered: The Local Scheme included three main variants which were set out in the report and had been subject to extensive consultation on the basis of a fully funded scheme. A do nothing option was not feasible as the Government’s Default Scheme unamended would apply leaving a funding gap. Adopting the recently announced Government scheme of transitional grant for one year with restriction in reductions to 8.5% would not produce a fully funded scheme as the grant is insufficient. The Cabinet decision in July 2012 was to consult on the basis of a fully funded scheme, as the Government’s scheme of transitional grant did not exist at that time.

 

DECISION AND RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL: Cabinet agreed to instruct the Director of Finance, Resources and Customer Services to prepare and recommend a local council tax support scheme to the Council on 30 January 2013 including proposals for council tax technical changes, the council tax and business rate tax base.

 

Reasons for recommendations: This report resulted from Government legislation to replace the national Council Tax Benefit scheme with a locally agreed scheme with reduced grant support.

(Key decision – reference number 3588)

 

Councillor Taylor (Leader of the Council) advised Members that following the production of the above report, a full and amended report had been prepared for the Council meeting on 30 January 2013, which had been published the previous day and was available for Cabinet Members this evening for consideration.

 

James Rolfe (Director of Finance, Resources and Customer Services) gave a short presentation to Members on the Council Tax Support Scheme as set out in the report to full Council, as follows:

 

The Government as part of its welfare reform agenda is scrapping the current national Council Tax Benefit scheme and replacing this with Council Tax Support which Councils have to determine locally and with reduced levels of Government funding. Pensioners are protected from the scheme and impact of the reduced support falls upon working age benefit cases. Enfield has developed a number of models and the Council will be asked to determine which model should be adopted for 2013/14 and will need to agree this before the end of this month.

 

The Council has carried out a full 12 week consultation on four different schemes all of which passed on the reductions in the forms of reduced support to working age cases to produce a fully funded scheme. At the very end of the consultation period, the Government announced a Transitional Grant scheme limiting reductions in support subject to certain criteria. This announcement was far too late to be included in the consultation and although such a scheme would not be fully funded the Council had developed this as further scheme options. The Council also has up to date information on the Government funding available and upon the slowing  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7