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.