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Council:
·     
Considered the consultation
documentation, outcome analysis from the consultation on the
council’s preferred scheme, GLA Consultation response and
Case study models of impact of recommended scheme at Appendices 1,
2, 3 and 6 of the report.
·     
Agreed that the
proposed income banded Council Tax Support Scheme consulted upon be
adopted whereby:
o  
working-age residents are entitled to support of up
to a maximum of 85%, depending on a person’s level of income,
household composition and level of capital where they fall within
one of the protected groups who are households with limited
capability to work and households with children aged 5 and
under;
o  
other eligible working-age residents are entitled to
support up to a maximum of 57%, depending on their level of income,
household composition and level of capital;
o  
the reductions made to support for non-dependants
will be a reduction of £20 per week for working
non-dependants and £8 per week for non-dependants who are out
of work.
·     
Agreed that the Council
continue to make £750,000 available for a Discretionary
Hardship Fund under section 13A(1)(c) of the Local Government
Finance Act 1992 as amended by the Local Government Finance Act
2012, to offer additional help and support to those suffering the
greatest financial hardship as defined in the Discretionary Housing
Payment and Council Tax Hardship Scheme published on the
Council’s website. This includes supporting care leavers. The
current scheme is attached at (Appendix 4).
·     
Agreed there be
delegated authority to correct any accidental errors and make any
minor or consequential changes necessary to the detailed provision
as a result of any changes in the
regulations upon which the scheme is based, to the Strategic
Director of Resources following consultation with the Portfolio
Lead Member for Finance and Resources.
·     
Noted that the income
banded scheme treats earnings and selfemployed earnings as the only income used to
determine a household’s level of income against the proposed
income bands. All other income would be disregarded. The scheme
will continue to fully disregard War Widows & War Widowers
pensions for all applicants. Various other incomes, for example,
Child Benefit, Disability Living Allowance and Personal
Independence Payments will also continue to be ignored when
calculating entitlement to Council Tax Support.
·     
Noted that the
remaining provisions of the Council’s scheme for 2025/26 will
be as published on the Council’s website.
·     
Noted that the
projected cost of the whole scheme is identified as £18.31
million which is £2.3 million less than if the current scheme
is continued. This will be reflected in the calculation of the
council tax base for 2025/26 and included within the next MTFS as
part of the budget setting process.
·     
Noted that before any
significant changes to the proposed scheme reducing or removing
support could be made that a further statutory consultation would
need to be carried out.
·     
Agreed that the Council
conducts a more detailed analysis of households' ability to meet
these liabilities based on the administrative data the Council has
access to using platforms and methodologies for reliable analysis.
This recommendation is welcome and reflects existing practice, and
whether the proposed changes are accepted or not the authority will
use its tools such as Pathways, Destin Solutions, and LIFT to
identify the ability of households to meet liabilities and address
this through the existing hardship fund and income
maximisation.