Issue - meetings

[Report of the Interim Chief Financial Officer. To be introduced by the Cabinet Member for Finance and Health.] To agree the Council Tax Reduction Scheme Policy for 2018/19. The Council is required to have a local council tax support scheme in place to provide relief for pensioners and low income residents by the 31st January 2018.

The Cabinet Member for Finance and Health introduced the report which set the out details of the review of Haringey’s current Council Tax Reduction Scheme (CTRS) 2017/18 and the recommendations for Haringey’s CTRS for 2018/19 taking into consideration the assessment of options and an Equalities Impact Assessment (EQIA). The scheme remained unchanged and would ask for claimants to pay 19.8% for Council Tax.

RESOLVED

 To recommend that Full Council:

                      i.        Agrees to adopt the CTRS 2018/19 as contained in Appendix C and as summarised in Appendix C which retains the same level of support as agreed since 2013/14 and which remains unchanged from 2017/18 for: pensioner’s claimants to continue to receive support for the payment of Council tax.

                    ii.        Agrees claimants in receipt of certain disability benefits to continue to receive support for the payment of Council tax.

                   iii.         Agrees all working age claimants Council Tax Support to continue to be capped at 80.2% of Council tax liability. 

                   iv.        Notes that an Equalities Impact Assessment (Appendix E) has been undertaken in relation to the CTRS and that the findings of this EIA must be taken into account when making a decision regarding the Scheme for 2018/19.

                    v.        Authority be given to the Chief Finance Officer and the Assistant Director of the Shared Service Centre to take all appropriate steps to implement and administer the Scheme.

Reasons for Decision

The recommendation to retain the current scheme continues to support the Government’s initiative of work incentives and pays due regard to the challenging financial climate we are currently in.

In recognition of the vulnerable sectors of society, we have supportive measures in place. It is proposed that these continue into 2018/19. Maintaining the current scheme ensures that these protected claimants will not be further disadvantaged.

The Council has had its overall centrally government funding reduced by over 43% in the last several years. This has meant that the Council has had to implement significant service reductions and efficiency savings. Given the level of funding cuts that the Council has had to manage and also that further cuts have been confirmed for future years, it is not possible for the Council to expand the scheme to include protection for other groups.

Alternative Options Considered

In accordance with paragraph 5 of Schedule 1A to the Local Government Finance Act 1992 (the 1992 Act), each financial year the Council is required to consider whether to revise or replace its scheme. One option for the Council is to continue with the scheme in place for the current financial year. Another option is to revise the scheme in some respects. The Council could choose to increase or decrease the amount of financial support available under the scheme. Options should be considered in the light of the knowledge gained during the implementation of the scheme over previous years.

The options for changing the scheme that have been considered to date have been listed below. Some of these were proposed by respondents to the consultation undertaken prior  ...  view the full minutes text for item 103