Issue - meetings

It was proposed by Councillor Townend, seconded by the Leader and Members agreed the recommendations as shown in the report with an amendment to recommendation 10 which replaced the wording ‘works towards’ with ‘will approve’, namely:

“The recommendations are that the existing scheme is modified to reduce the level of expenditure within the scheme by £875k (of which Thanet’s reduction would be £119k) and maintain alignment with the Housing Benefit rules whilst protecting the principles of the original scheme relating to protecting the most vulnerable where possible.

1.  That the current minimum contribution towards their Council Tax made by recipients of Council Tax Support is increased from 5.5% to 10.0%

2.  That the maximum savings that a customer can have and still claim Council Tax Support is reduced from £16,000 to £6,000

3.  That a minimum income is used within the calculation for Self Employed Customers after 12 months of self-employment

4.  That the maximum level of Council Tax support is restricted to the equivalent of a Band D property charge

5.  That only the first two children in a family will be included in the calculation for children born after April 2017 (some exceptions will apply for adoptions and multiple births)

6.  That the Family Premium is not included in the calculation of Council Tax Support for all new working age customers

7.  That the period for which a late claim can be backdated is reduced to one month

8.  That the period for which a customer can be absent from Great Britain and still claim Council Tax Support is reduced to 4 weeks (with some exclusions for certain occupations)

9.  That the element of the work-related component of Employment and Support Allowance is not included in the Council Tax Support Calculation

10.  That TDC works towards will approvean exceptional hardship scheme that will be introduced from April 2017 in order to provide a safety net for customers experiencing extreme difficulty paying their Council Tax

11.  That Council notes the equalities impact as detailed in Annex 1.”

Mr Willis led the discussion on this item and reported that the proposed Council Tax Support Scheme had been recommended to Full Council for adoption by Cabinet. It was also reported that government funding of the scheme had been reduced and Council had had to top it up over the years. Although proposals to the scheme would see reductions being introduced, it would still be one of the most generous in the county.

Council would also be considering for adoption in the near future, a Hardship Scheme to support those families that would have been affected most by the changes to the proposed Council Tax Scheme. A Member of the Panel suggested that the details of the Hardship Scheme be brought to the Overview & Scrutiny Panel, before finalisation by Council.

Members requested for clear definitions to the key issues in the hardship scheme. In response Mr Willis advised Members that the Hardship Scheme would need to be in place by 1 April 2017. The proposed scheme would be similar to the one adopted by Canterbury City Council and Dover District Council.

There being no specific recommendations to make to Cabinet, Members noted the report.

The meeting was informed of the need to adopt a new Council Tax Support Scheme for the district to replace the one that had been in place since 2013. The funding gap for the scheme had continued to grow due to funding cuts by government. Members agreed that the proposals being put forward were not a very difficult choice.

The recommendations that were put forward had been extensively researched and consulted upon, and were arrived at after careful examination of the evidence. Whilst trying to make the scheme less costly, it was worth noting that the scheme would still be subsidised. Cabinet also proposed in addition, a hardship scheme to assist those most adversely affected by the suggested changes.

The following Members spoke under Council Procedure Rule 20.1:

Councillor Constantine;

Councillor Campbell;

Councillor Game.

Councillor Townend proposed, Councillor Brimm seconded and Cabinet agreed to forward the following recommendations to Full Council that:

1.  The existing scheme is modified to reduce the level of expenditure within the scheme by £875k (of which Thanet’s reduction would be £119k) and maintain alignment with the Housing Benefit rules whilst protecting the principles of the original scheme relating to protecting the most vulnerable where possible.

2.  The current minimum contribution towards their Council Tax made by recipients of Council Tax Support is increased from 5.5% to 10.0%;

3.  The maximum savings that a customer can have and still claim Council Tax Support is reduced from £16,000 to £6,000;

4.  A minimum income is used within the calculation for Self Employed Customers after 12 months of self-employment;

5.  The maximum level of Council Tax support is restricted to the equivalent of a Band D property charge;

6.  Only the first two children in a family will be included in the calculation for children born after April 2017 (some exceptions will apply for adoptions and multiple births);

7.  The Family Premium is not included in the calculation of Council Tax Support for all new working age customers;

8.  The period for which a late claim can be backdated is reduced to one month;

9.  The period for which a customer can be absent from Great Britain and still claim Council Tax Support is reduced to 4 weeks (with some exclusions for certain occupations);

10.  The element of the work-related component of Employment and Support Allowance is not included in the Council Tax Support Calculation;

11.  TDC works towards an exceptional hardship scheme that will be introduced from April 2017 in order to provide a safety net for customers experiencing extreme difficulty paying their Council Tax;

And Members further agreed:

12. To note the equalities impact as detailed in Annex 1 to the Cabinet report.