Agenda item

The Council considered a report of the Corporate Director, Resources which sought approval for the continuation of the Local Council Tax Reduction Scheme for a further year into 2015/16 (for copy see file of Minutes).

In Moving the report, Councillor Napier, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Finance, informed the Council that there was no sign of austerity ending and that Local government had borne the brunt of funding cuts.  Since the Local Council Tax Reduction Scheme was approved in 2013 it had been kept under review to ensure its affordability.  In 2013 the Government abolished the national Council Tax Benefits System and replaced it with a requirement for local authorities to work with precepting bodies to establish a Local Council Support Scheme.  At the same time, the funding made available to support the Local Council Tax Support Schemes was reduced to 90% of the funding available under the abolished Council Tax Benefit Scheme.  The Scheme for 2015/16 would continue to protect all claimants in line with what their entitlement would have been under the Council Tax Benefit System and was in line with the Cabinet’s priority to protect low income households within the County.  The Scheme for 2015/16 would also continue to pass on to Town and Parish Councils element of its formula grant in 2015/16 as detailed in the report.

Councillor Napier informed the Council that nationally, evidence showed an increase in Council Tax arrears where a local authority had not introduced a Local Council Tax Reduction Scheme.  Financial pressures on low income households had been exacerbated by the Welfare Reform agenda, including the introduction of Universal Benefit, and these were unprecedented times for such households.  Councillor Napier urged all Members to endorse the decision of Cabinet taken on 16 July 2014 to continue the Local Council Tax Reduction Scheme for 2015/16.

In Seconding the report, Councillor Surtees informed the Council that she was pleased to endorse the Scheme which would help over 34,000 households within the County.

Councillor R Bell, while welcoming the report and extension of the Scheme for 2015/16, sought clarification of what the cost of the Scheme would be  2015/16 and what the Scheme had cost for 2013/14 and 2014/15.  Councillor Bell also asked whether it was known how much was included in the Council’s formula grant for a Local Council Tax Support Scheme.

The Corporate Director, Resources replied that when the Scheme was introduced in April 2013 the cost was £4.6m.  Two years on the cost had reduced slightly because of a reduced caseload.  If the Scheme was not to be adopted, the Council £4.6m would be returned to the Council’s budget.  Referring to formula funding arrangements, the Corporate Director, Resources informed the Council that while separate figures for funding were published in 2013/14 and 2014/15, there was no longer any visibility over what level of funding was actually contained now within the formula for Council Tax Reduction Schemes.

Councillor Wilkes expressed his support for the continuation of the Local Council Tax Reduction Scheme for 2015/16 which helped to support the most vulnerable within County Durham. 

Resolved:

That the County Council:

(i)              Continue the current Local Council Tax Reduction Scheme into 2015/16 which retained the same level of support to all council tax payers as the previous Council Tax Benefit Scheme which was abolished on 1 April 2013;

(ii)             Agree that the extension to the Scheme be initially for one year only and be kept under continuous review with a further decision to be considered by Cabinet in July/September 2015 and full Council by January 2016.