This meeting was about the council's budget for the next financial year, the way it calculates how much Council Tax Support to provide to residents, and included consideration of whether to dispose of a community centre in Egham Hythe. It also included a decision on whether to approve a grant funding request from St. Paul’s Church in Egham.

Council Tax Support

The Committee was asked to consider the results of a consultation that took place between 16 July and 16 September 2024 about the Runnymede Borough Council Council Tax Support Scheme for people of working age, and to recommend a scheme for adoption by the full council.

Council Tax Support is a means-tested discount on Council Tax bills to help people on low incomes pay their Council Tax. It is paid to people who are liable for Council Tax on their sole or main residence.

The changes to the scheme were being proposed because the government is requiring all claimants of legacy benefits¹ to migrate to Universal Credit by December 2025, and the way the council assesses people's eligibility for Council Tax Support has to change to take this into account.

The report to the committee acknowledged that:

By April 2025, everyone remaining on legacy benefits will have been told to move to UC and legacy benefits will cease being paid.

It was also noted that:

The rollout of Universal Credit will continue to erode the Housing Benefit caseload throughout 2025 until the planned final notices are issued in December 2025.

This meant that the council's Housing Benefit team would have less to do, so the changes to the scheme were also being proposed to simplify the way it is administered so that staff can be redeployed to other tasks.

The report concluded that:

Taking the best elements of our current scheme and introducing an Income Banded assessment for those on UC will continue to provide the most support to the vulnerable, while being simpler to administer and explain.

Consultation

The council sent letters and emails to 10,223 residents, 2,625 of whom were known to already be claiming Council Tax Support. Two public drop-in sessions were also held in July and September. In total 80 responses to the consultation were received.

Options

The committee was asked to choose from three options for the scheme for the 2025/26 financial year:

1. Option 1 - Retain the scheme in its current form.
2. Option 2 - Make changes to the existing scheme to deliver increased entitlement for those on the lowest household incomes.
3. Option 3 - Introduce an Income Banded scheme for people claiming Universal Credit.

Option 1 - Retain the current scheme

Under the current scheme, someone claiming Council Tax Support can receive up to 80% of the Council Tax bill for a band D property, or 90% if they are classed as vulnerable. The council also applies a minimum entitlement of £5 per week, so people whose entitlement would have been less than £5 receive £5.

The report acknowledged that the current scheme:

uses premiums and allowances as a measure of a claimant’s financial need based on their household composition, age and if anyone in the household has a disability.

Option 2 - Make changes to the existing scheme

Option 2 was a catch-all option, covering various potential changes to the existing scheme, including increasing the maximum entitlement, and increasing the amount non-dependants² are required to pay.

It included the following changes:

• Option 2a - Increase the maximum entitlement to 90% of the Council Tax bill for a Band D property, regardless of whether the claimant is classed as vulnerable.
• Option 2b - Increase the maximum entitlement to 100% of the Council Tax bill for a band D property.
• Option 2c - Introduce a simpler system for non-dependant deductions, where everyone who lives with a Council Tax Support claimant would pay a fixed amount each week: £10 if they're unemployed and £20 if they work.
• Option 2d - Remove the additional earnings disregard for everyone who works. Under the current scheme people who work can have a small amount of extra money protected from being counted towards their Council Tax Support entitlement. This extra protection is removed for people claiming Universal Credit, so Option 2d would have brought the system for people not receiving Universal Credit into line with the system for people who are receiving it.
• Option 2e - Reduce the capital limit to £6,000 for all working age applicants. Under the current scheme someone can have up to £10,000 in savings and still get Council Tax Support, and this limit is higher for some people with special needs.

Option 3 - Introduce an Income Banded scheme

Option 3 proposed moving to an Income Banded Scheme for people receiving Universal Credit, under which people would pay less Council Tax based on how much they earn. The report argued that this would mean smaller changes in their income wouldn't affect their Council Tax bill as much.

The committee was also asked to consider three sub-options:

• Option 3a - Implement an Income Banded Scheme with a maximum weekly entitlement of 80% of the Council Tax bill for a Band D property for most working age claimants, and 90% for those classed as vulnerable.
• Option 3b - Implement an Income Banded Scheme with a maximum weekly entitlement of 90% of the Council Tax bill for a Band D property for all claimants.
• Option 3c - Implement an Income Banded Scheme with a maximum weekly entitlement of 100% of the Council Tax bill for a Band D property for all claimants.

Under all three sub-options the report proposed introducing income bands that would determine how much of their Council Tax bill a claimant would have to pay. For example, under Option 3a anyone earning between £60.00 and £144.99 per week would have to pay £8 towards their weekly council tax bill on top of the 10% they would already be paying because their Council Tax Support is limited to 90%. These upper-band contributions would be adjusted depending on the level of maximum entitlement the committee chose, so under Option 3c there would be no upper-band contributions at all.

Under Option 3, people not receiving Universal Credit would continue to be assessed under the current means tested scheme.

Consultation response

According to the report, there was no clear consensus in support of any of the options presented in the consultation.

Most respondents rejected the idea of increasing the maximum entitlement to 90% or 100% of Band D, or moving to an Income Banded scheme with a maximum entitlement of 90% or 100%.

There was some support (53%) for moving to an Income Banded Scheme in general.

Most respondents (58%) believed that any changes to the scheme that increased entitlement should be paid for by reducing entitlement for other people. They were split 50/50 on whether non-dependants should pay more and whether the additional earnings disregard should be removed.

The report acknowledged that:

While the consultation results are inconclusive, with the ongoing migration to Universal Credit for many residents, the number of individuals claiming Housing Benefit will decline significantly over the next 18 months.

It concluded that because of this the council:

must take proactive steps to streamline its administration during this transitional period.

It argued that:

Adopting an Income Banded scheme will facilitate this process and free up much-needed capacity to focus on administering the Household Support Funds and promoting other benefit uptake through the Council's Financial Inclusion strategies.

Recommendation

Officers recommended that the committee recommend to Full Council the adoption of Option 3a: an Income Banded scheme for people receiving Universal Credit, with those not receiving Universal Credit continuing to be assessed for Council Tax Support under the existing means-tested scheme. The committee was asked to decide what level of maximum entitlement to recommend to Full Council.

Determination of Tax Base and Estimated Collection Funds Surplus or Deficit

The committee was asked to approve the Council Tax base for 2025/26, and declare the estimated surplus on the Collection Fund for 2024/25.

Council Tax Base

The Council Tax base is an estimate of the number of chargeable dwellings in Runnymede for the year ahead. Each year the council has to calculate this figure and notify precepting authorities³ of it by 31 January. Preceptors use it in their budget-setting process to determine how much Council Tax they will receive in the following year.

The report explained that:

The tax base is an assessment of the number of dwellings liable to council tax, adjusted for the effect of any discounts and premiums, and the effect of the Council Tax Support Scheme. The amount estimated to be awarded via the Support Scheme is expressed as an equivalent number of Band D dwellings and is deducted from the tax base. Therefore the higher the cost of the Support Scheme, the lower the tax base, resulting in a lower level of funding to include in budget plans.

It was noted that:

The taxbase used for budget setting for 2024/25 (before allowance for non-collection) was 36,362.4 which has proved to be a reasonable estimate.

The report proposed a Council Tax Base for 2025/26 of 35,814.4, which included estimated net growth of 130 Band D equivalent dwellings to account for:

• A modest increase in net dwellings due to the uncertain economic climate.
• An increase in the provision of Council Tax Support due to changes in the scheme, and potential increased take-up of support.
• An increase in premiums on empty properties.
• A decrease in the number of people claiming single person discount.

The report argued that this figure took account of the factors most likely to affect the tax base, including changes to the Council Tax Support scheme being considered elsewhere in the meeting.

Collection Fund Surplus or Deficit

Runnymede Council administers the Council Tax Collection Fund on behalf of itself, Surrey County Council and Surrey Police.

The committee was asked to declare the estimated surplus on the Collection Fund for 2024/25.

The report proposed an estimated surplus for 2024/25 of £924,858. The report explained that this would be allocated to preceptors based on their shares of the Council Tax during 2024/25, so Surrey County Council would receive 77.4% of the surplus, Surrey Police and Crime Commissioner would receive 14.2%, and Runnymede Borough Council would receive 8.4%.

In Principle Decision to Dispose of the Egham Hythe Centre

The committee was asked to make an in-principle decision on whether to authorise officers to explore options for the disposal of the Egham Hythe Centre.

The report explained that:

The Egham Hythe Centre is currently let to a local charity. The existing lease is shortly due to expire, and the tenant has indicated that they no longer wish to occupy the building.

The report argued that the disposal of the Egham Hythe Centre would reduce the council's maintenance liability and could generate capital receipts. It recommended that the committee approve the disposal subject to a number of conditions:

1. The disposal must be at best consideration.
2. The disposal must comply with the council's Community Asset Transfer Policy.
3. The disposal must be subject to the outcome of a public consultation.

Grant Funding Request for St Paul's Church, Egham Hythe

The committee was asked to consider a request from St Paul’s Church for grant funding to replace its roof.

The report explained that St Paul’s Church is a grade 2* listed building⁴ located in the Egham Hythe Conservation Area.

St Paul’s Church is seeking grant funding to support the replacement of its roof, which has reached the end of its useful life. The Church has already raised a significant amount of funding towards the project, but is seeking additional support from the council.

The report acknowledged that:

The council has a strong track record of supporting heritage assets in the borough.

It recommended that the committee approve a grant of £25,000 towards the project, to be funded from the council's Community Infrastructure Levy⁵ receipts.

The report concluded that:

The provision of a grant towards this project would help to ensure that this important heritage asset is preserved for future generations.