Content

Salford City Council - Record of Decision (Cabinet)
 
I,
Paul Dennett, City Mayor, in exercise of the powers contained
within the City Council Constitution do hereby approve:

Proceeding to a council decision with the
recommendation that the current Council Tax Reduction Scheme for
working-age claimants in receipt of Universal Credit, along with
the three proposed amendments stated in the report to Cabinet of
the 10 February 2026, be adopted as the 2026/2027 scheme and
approved at a meeting of the council on 25 February
2026.

 

The Reasons are:
The
review of the current Council Tax Reduction Scheme is complete, the
public consultation and equality assessment have been worked
through, and three sensible changes have been identified to keep
the scheme fair, simple, and supportive for residents on low
incomes. The three proposed changes have been fully assessed
— ignoring UC transitional protection payments, disregarding
part of pension income for mixed?age couples, and keeping
transitional protection in place — and won’t
significantly increase costs, and will help ensure people
don’t lose support unfairly. These changes reinforce the
Council’s commitment to protecting vulnerable residents,
ensuring that those who are already facing financial pressure
continue to receive the help they need.  To meet the legal deadline for finalising the
scheme for 2026/27, full Council must approve it before 11 March
2026.
 
Options considered and rejected were:Not making any changes to the
current scheme
 

Assessment of Risk:

·        
Increased demand on scheme due to future economic challenges cannot
be forecast.

·        
Potential future legislative changes or Tribunal decisions that may
require the scheme to be reviewed or adjusted.
 
The
source of funding is: Salford City
Council Budget
 
Legal Advice
obtained:  From Lauren
Armstrong, Solicitor (Commercial Legal Team)

·        
The Council operates the CTRS as a discretionary
scheme under Council Tax Reduction Scheme in accordance with
section 13A and Schedule 1A of the Local Government Finance Act
1992 (amended). The Council must act in accordance with the
prescribed legislation.

·        
Prior to migration to the current 25/26 scheme, the
Council carried out a full review of the existing CTRS in
accordance with the Section 13A of the Local Government Finance
Act. This set out key considerations which impacted the current
25/26 scheme - in particular the impact of the Universal Credit
Managed Migration Programme which is due to complete on 31st March
2026. The Council’s intention was to make its CTRS simpler,
fair and easier, having identified that the previous provision had
pitfalls such as complexity around its assessment
criteria.

·        
The analysis produced three potential models, and
the preferred model (now in place) marked a change from the
previous model. Therefore the Council was required under Schedule
1A of the Act requires the Council to carry out a consultation
“with such persons as it considers are likely to have an
interest in the operation of the scheme” and it must consult
where it intends to revise the scheme or replace it. The Council
also committed to a period of evaluation and completion of a
community impact assessment.

·        
The previous report set out the results of the
review of the 25/26 CTRS, which identified that there has been
reduced support. As such, using the data obtained and summarised in
this report, the Council identified three recommendations for
inclusion

·        
in the 26/27 CTRS, and highlighted that prior to
implementing any or all of the recommended changes, the Council
must undertake a public consultation exercise (and give sufficient
time to enable the public to meaningfully engage, responses
evaluated and a community impact assessment undertaken).

·        
This report documents the results from that
mandatory consultation exercise (set out in appendix A) which was
carried out in accordance with the timeline detailed in the
previous report, together with its equality impact assessment. The
Council has undertaken the analysis detailed in this report to
satisfy itself that it is appropriate to implement the CTRS changes
recommended in the this report from 1st
April 2026 and that it has followed the process mandated in the
legislation to do so.

·        
The report also highlights in section 6 the
Government’s impending change to the two-child limit on
Universal Credit. It notes that the Government ‘s timetable
has not allowed Salford City Council (and local authorities in
general) to consult/implement changes in readiness for a 26/27
financial year implementation. Salford recognises the potential
impact of the change in respect of its CTRS has decided to take an
approach of monitoring the caseload closely, which is similar to
other Local Authorities operating similar schemes.
 
Financial Advice obtained: From
David Eden, Finance Manager
 
·        
The current cost of the CTR scheme in 2025/26 is in
alignment with the notional budget that was included within the
Council Tax Base for the year.
·        
The three proposed amendments to the CTR scheme for
2026/27 are not anticipated to significantly change the current
cost of the scheme when considering the CTR and Transitional
Protection schemes combined.
·        
The proposed scheme has been factored into the
council’s budget setting process for 2026/27 and the wider
MTFP period.
Procurement Advice
obtained: N/A
 
HR
Advice obtained: N/A
 
Climate Change Advice obtained: N/A
 

The following documents have been used to assist the
decision process:

·        
Council Tax Reduction Scheme 2026/2027 Consultation –
Appendix a of the report

·        
Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) – Appendix B of the
report
The
appropriate scrutiny to call-in the decision is Overview and
Scrutiny Board.

Contact Officer:     
Penny Mitchell        
           
Telephone number: 0161 793 3640
 

 

 

Signed:
Paul Dennett                     
Dated: 18th February 2026
            
City Mayor
 

For Democratic
Services use only

 

This decision was
published on 18.02.26                                         

This decision will
come in force at 4.00 p.m. on 25.02.26
unless it is called-in in accordance with the Decision Making
Process Rules.