Issue - meetings

(Finance Portfolio Holder) To consider the attached report.

Mover: Councillor G Mohindra, Finance Portfolio Holder

Councillor G Mohindra submitted a report regarding the Local Council Tax Support Scheme for 2017/18.

Report as first moved ADOPTED

RESOLVED:

That the revised Local Council Tax Support Scheme 2017/18 be approved.

(Finance Portfolio Holder) To consider the attached report (C-040-2016/17).

(1)        That the responses to the consultation on the scheme for 2017/18 be noted;

(2)        That the scheme be amended to remove the family premium in the calculation for new claimants in line with other welfare reforms;

(3)        That the scheme be amended to withdraw Local Council Tax Support where a person leaves Great Britain for 4 weeks or more in line with other welfare reforms;

(4)        That the scheme be amended to limit the number of dependant additions to a maximum of two for all cases where dependants were born on or after 1 April 2017, in line with other welfare reforms; and

(5)        That the amended Local Council Tax Support Scheme for 2017/18 be recommended to the Council for approval.

The Finance Portfolio Holder presented a report on the Local Council Tax Support Scheme for 2017/18.

The Portfolio Holder reminded the Cabinet that, as part of the major changes to the Welfare Benefits system, Council Tax Benefit ended on 31 March 2013 and was replaced by a new scheme called Local Council Tax Support (LCTS). A key principle of the scheme was the protection of people who were of an age where they could claim Pension Credit. The Government introduced Regulations to ensure that pensioners who had previously received Council Tax Benefit would continue to receive the same level of assistance they had prior to the LCTS being introduced.  The Pan Essex LCTS project group, comprising of all the billing authorities and the unitary authorities in Essex, was created in January 2012 to devise a modular approach upon which all Essex authorities could base their local schemes according to local needs. The precepting authorities of Essex County Council, Essex Fire Authority and Essex Police were also involved from the beginning of the project. The project was managed by the Benefit Managers under guidance from the Essex Finance Officers Association.

The Portfolio Holder reported that the Council had approved the Epping Forest LCTS scheme for 2013/14 in December 2012, and for the first 3 years, the scheme remained unchanged. In December 2015, the Council had approved two amendments to the scheme for 2016/17, the first being that the maximum percentage of discount was reduced from 80% to 75%, and the second being a change to the calculation of self-employed income to align the LCTS with Universal Credit. 

The Portfolio Holder stated that on 21 July 2016, the Cabinet approved the general principle that the Scheme for 2017/18 should aim to be cost neutral for the Council and that public consultation should be undertaken on certain elements of the Scheme to align it with other Welfare Reform changes that had either already been implemented, or were due to be implemented by April 2017. These were as follows:

            (i)         to remove the family premium in the calculation for new claimants;

            (ii)        to withdraw Local Council Tax Support where a person left Great     Britain for four weeks or more;

            (iii)       to limit the number of dependent additions to a maximum of two for all         cases where dependents were born on or after 1 April 2017; and

            (iv)       to reduce the maximum period for backdated claims by people of     working age from three months to one month.

The Portfolio Holder informed the Cabinet that consultation on the 2017/18 scheme was undertaken from 15 August 2016 to 15 October 2016, and a total of 58 responses were received. Following the consultation period, it was decided not to reduce the maximum period for backdated claims by people of working age in the Scheme for 2017/18; in particular, it was felt that one month would not be long enough in cases of bereavement and the Hardship Fund could not be used to make any payments in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 98

(Finance Portfolio Holder) To consider the attached report (C-010-2016/17).

(1)       That a public consultation exercise on the 2017/18 Local Council Tax Support Scheme be undertaken between August and October 2016;

(2)        That the following elements of the scheme be approved for inclusion in the consultation:

            (i)         a general principle that the Local Council Tax Support scheme for    2017/18 should aim to be cost neutral for the Council;

            (ii)        to seek views on alternative funding options for the Local Council Tax             Support scheme if the scheme was not cost neutral;

            (iii)       to remove the Family Premium in the calculation for new claimants in          line with other Welfare Reforms;

            (iv)       to reduce the period allowed for backdating to one month in line with             other Welfare Reforms;

            (v)        to limit the number of dependant additions to a maximum of two for all             cases where dependants were born on or after 1 April 2017, in line with other             Welfare Reforms; and

            (vi)       to withdraw Local Council Tax Support where a person leaves the   United Kingdom for 4 weeks or more in line with other Welfare Reforms.

The Finance Portfolio Holder presented a report on the Local Council Tax Support Scheme for 2017/18.

The Portfolio Holder reported that on 15 December 2015, the Council had adopted the Local Council Tax Support scheme for 2016/17. Consideration now had to be given to the scheme for the financial year 2017/18 which would require approval by the Council in December 2016. It was necessary to undertake public consultation on the Council’s scheme each year before the scheme was adopted by the Council. In view of the timescales, it would be necessary for the consultation to be undertaken between August and October 2016 in order to ensure that the Authority would have consulted correctly and that Council could adopt the scheme at the December meeting.

The Portfolio Holder stated that very few complaints had been received in respect of the Scheme and there was a general acceptance by residents that they needed to pay some portion of their Council Tax bill. When the Scheme was amended in 2016/17 to reduce the maximum amount of support available from 80% to 75%, there was very little complaint and Council Tax Officers had been pro-active in assisting those residents who were not paid monthly.

The Portfolio Holder listed the elements proposed to be included in the consultation for the Scheme in 2017/18. The first two elements were based on the principle that the Scheme should be cost neutral to the Council; the other four proposed elements would bring the Scheme in line with other Welfare Reforms introduced by the Government for Housing Benefit. Essex County Council had again agreed to host the online consultation for 2017/18 for Essex Authorities, and the ability to respond by paper would be made available to those who did not have internet access.

In response to questions from the Members present, the Assistant Director of Resources (Benefits) stated that the proposed changes were in line those proposed by other Essex Authorities. The consultation would be advertised as wide as possible to let as many people know as possible, but historically there was a low level of responses to this consultation. The Director of Resources clarified that, when referring to the scheme as being cost neutral to the Council, it was correct there was no longer a separate grant received by the Council for the Scheme, but any reduction received in the overall Revenue Support Grant was also applied to the amount of funding considered available for the Scheme.

Decision:

(1)       That a public consultation exercise on the 2017/18 Local Council Tax Support Scheme be undertaken between August and October 2016;

(2)        That the following elements of the scheme be approved for inclusion in the consultation:

            (i)         a general principle that the Local Council Tax Support scheme for    2017/18 should aim to be cost neutral for the Council;

            (ii)        to seek views on alternative funding options for the Local Council Tax          Support scheme if the scheme was not cost neutral;

            (iii)       to remove the Family Premium in the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 24