85 Local Council Tax Support Scheme 2020-21 PDF 312 KB
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Minutes:
The Council received a report on its statutory duty to consider annually whether to revise its Local Council Tax Support Scheme (LCTSS), replace it with another or make no changes. The Council was obliged to consult with interested parties if it wished to revise or replace the scheme. In addition, the Council had to approve a scheme for the 2020-21 financial year by 31 January 2020.
In 2019-20, a number of minor changes were made to the scheme. For 2020-21, it was proposed to introduce the following changes, which could be met from within the existing revenue budget:
· Amend the definition of pension age and working age in accordance with the government’s changes to the Council Tax Reduction Schemes (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2012 for 1 April 2020, once they were received.
A stakeholder consultation was held between 16 September and 13 October 2019, the results of which were set out in the report. It was noted that although the County Council and Police and Crime Commissioner had supported the changes, the overall response did not overwhelmingly support for or against any the proposed changes for 2020-21.
Councillors noted that the Council continued to operate in a tough financial climate and that its medium-term financial plan position remained challenging. However, it was recognised that passing on further savings via the LCTS scheme in 2020-21 would place additional financial pressure on vulnerable households. A discretionary hardship fund would help support any resident suffering adversely from the consequences of savings in welfare support over the past seven years, in addition to the proposed changes for 2020-21.
The Executive had considered the report at its meeting on 26 November 2019 and had endorsed the recommendation therein.
Upon the motion of the Lead Councillor for Housing, Access and Disability, Councillor Angela Goodwin, seconded by the Lead Councillor for Finance and Assets, Customer Service, Councillor Joss Bigmore, the Council:
RESOLVED:
(1) That the current LocalCouncil Tax Support Schemebe amended for 2020-21, as set out in detail in Appendix 2 to the report submitted to the Council, with effect from 1 April 2020.
(2) That the Council maintains a discretionary hardship fund of £40,000 in 2020-21.
Reasons:
(1) To ensure that the Council complies with legislation to implement a LocalCouncil Tax Support Scheme from 1 April 2020.
(2) To maintain a discretionary fund to help applicants ... view the full minutes text for item 85
58 Local Council Tax Support Scheme 2020-21 PDF 314 KB
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Decision:
The Executive agreed to recommend to Council (meeting 3 December 2019):
(1) That the current LCTS scheme (a summary of which is on the council website), be amended for 2020-21, as set out in detail in Appendix 2 to the committee report, with effect from 1 April 2020.
(2) That the Council maintains a discretionary hardship fund of £40,000 in 2020-21.
Reasons for Recommendation:
(1) To ensure that the Council complies with legislation to implement a LCTS scheme from 1 April 2020.
(2) To maintain a discretionary fund to help applicants suffering from severe financial hardship.
(3) To ensure that the Council complies with legislation to implement a LCTS scheme from 1 April 2020.
(4) To maintain a discretionary fund to help applicants suffering from severe financial hardship.
Options considered:
(1) The Council is in the position to implement some relatively small changes to the scheme to:
· address the impact of increases in the cost of living,
· reflect changes to HB and Pension Age LCTS regulations with regards to the treatment of income and capital from “the Windrush Compensation Scheme”.
We can make these amendments within the existing revenue budget.
(2) There is also a statutory requirement for the Council to amend the definition of pension and working age within it’s working age scheme in accordance with anticipated changes to the Council Tax Reduction Schemes (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2012 from 1 April 2020
(3) Creating a Local Council Tax Support Scheme is not without risk:
· Officers have concluded that the hardship fund helps minimise the risk by providing help for those facing financial hardship because of our scheme rules.
· An unstable financial outlook post Brexit puts further financial pressure on vulnerable families and leads to an imbalance between a prudent local welfare arrangement and significant hardship for claimants. On this basis, officers are recommending only minor changes to our current scheme.
· The impact of Universal Credit remains uncertain, and therefore a further risk. A more radical review of our scheme is being undertaken to try and mitigate any problems, but due to the complexity of the work involved this is more than a one-year project.
(4) To continue with the momentum of the past six years, the Executive is asked to recommend to Council that an appropriate hardship fund be maintained in 202021, to enable us to continue to support families affected by our local scheme. Officers suggest retaining a £40,000 pot.
Conflicts of interest:
None.
Minutes:
The Council had a statutory duty to consider annually whether to revise its Local Council Tax Support (LCTS) scheme (otherwise known as Council Tax Reduction (CTR)), replace it with another or make no changes at all. The Council was obliged to consult with interested parties if it should wish to revise or replace the scheme. The Council must approve a scheme for the 2020-21 financial year by 31 January 2020, to enable annual bills to be calculated correctly.
The Lead Councillor for Housing, Access and Disability introduced the report. It was noted that the existing scheme was working well, but there was an associated piece of work being undertaken to review the impact of the roll-out of Universal Credit. Any changes made by the Council to the scheme could be supplemented by the Discretionary Hardship Fund, but it was stressed that this was not a general fund. The recommended changes made in the report were within the existing revenue budget. Two of the proposed changes were associated with an increase in the cost of living, another concerned the ‘Windrush’ Compensation Scheme and finally impacts associated with changes to the National Pension Age Scheme. It was noted that Police and Surrey County Council supported the proposed changes. The Lead Councillor for Housing, Access and Disability gave some examples of the implementation of the Scheme and the Hardship Fund.
It was further noted that there would a forthcoming fundamental review of the way in which the consultation process for the Scheme was conducted to ensure that as wide a representation of views as was possible was captured.
Having considered the report, the Executive
RECOMMEND:
(1) That the current LCTS scheme be amended for 2020-21, as set out in detail in Appendix 2 to the report submitted to the Executive, with effect from 1 April 2020.
(2) That the Council maintains a discretionary hardship fund of £40,000 in 2020-21.
Reasons:
(1) To ensure that the Council complies with legislation to implement a LCTS scheme from 1 April 2020.
(2) To maintain a discretionary fund to help applicants suffering from severe financial hardship.