Purpose

Cabinet is asked to recommend
to Full Council that the proposed scheme outlined in the report is
adopted as the Council’s Scheme for Council Tax Support from
1st April 2025.
 
 

Content

Cabinet:

(1)           
considered the consultation documentation, outcome
analysis from the consultation on the council’s preferred
scheme, Greater London Authority (GLA) Consultation response and
Case study models of impact of recommended scheme at Appendices 1,
2, 3 and 6 of the report;

(2)           
recommendedto Full Council
that the proposed income banded Council Tax Support Scheme
consulted upon be adopted whereby:

·      
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;

·      
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;

·      
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;

(3)           
recommendedto Full Council
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;

(4)           
recommended to Full Council 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;

(5)           
noted that the income banded scheme treats earnings and
self-employed 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;

(6)           
noted that the remaining
provisions of the Council’s scheme for 2025/26 will be as
published on the Council’s website;

(7)           
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;

(8)           
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;
and

(9)           
recommended to Full Council 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.

Options & Alternatives Considered

It is a statutory requirement that Council considers
and adopts a CTS scheme from 1 April 2025 and identifies the
sources of funding. It is recommended that Cabinet recommends that
Full Council adopt the proposed income banded scheme to help
protect the most vulnerable residents in the borough whilst also
maintaining a sure financial footing for the Council.

Members should be aware that there are also other
options available to Full Council for a CTS scheme from 1 April
2025.

Cabinet could recommend to Full Council that it
adopts a more generous scheme than consulted
upon such as continuing with the existing scheme, which would cost
£20.61million and see the average award increase by
£1.00 per week. The scheme would cost £2.32million more
than the proposed scheme.

The Council can also choose not to adopt a scheme, in which case it
will be required to calculate amounts of support using the
Government’s ‘default scheme’.This is more
generous than any of the schemes previously adopted and gives the
Council no control over its content.

The Council may decide to adopt a more generous
scheme than it has consulted on however, for example changes to
income bands to increase the levels of income within the bands,
this would require the Council identify how it would be funded, for
example, from use of Council Reserves or monies from other service
budgets.

Designing a less generous scheme than the one
consulted upon would require consultation.  Legislation
dictates that the Council must decide on a scheme by 11 March each
year, but as the cost of the CTS scheme forms part of the budget
setting process and Council Tax annual billing, approval for a new
scheme would need to be made by the date the budget for 2025/26 is
set in February 2025. Adopting a significantly different scheme to
that currently operated or consulted upon offers system
implementation challenges, so it is urged that a decision be made
at the earliest convenience to minimise risk of incorrect Council
Tax billing.