Agenda item

To consider the report of the Assistant Director Customer Access.

People Scrutiny Committee considered the report at its meeting on 3 November 2016 and its comments will be reported.

The report of the Assistant Director Customer Access was submitted which sought Members’ views on the local Council Tax Support (CTS) Scheme for working age residents for 2017-18. The local CTS Scheme started in April 2013 and Members were required to agree the Scheme rules annually. The report also sought approval of the revised Exceptional Hardship policy to take effect from 1 April 2017. The Equality Impact Assessment and consultation indicated that impact on individuals was likely to be limited and that any resulting hardship could be managed through the Exceptional Hardship Fund.

The Assistant Director Customer Access advised that the changes proposed had been presented to the Devon Local Government Steering Group meeting on 15 April 2016 by Devon County Council and District Heads of Finance. The preferred option at that meeting was to make a series of administrative changes to the CTS Scheme from April 2017 and introduce a Minimum Income Floor (MIF) for self-employed claimants. This option was felt to provide sufficient financial savings for the County Council - mostly through the introduction of MIF – and help to keep the CTS scheme in line with changes to national schemes. Since that meeting, the Devon Benefit Officer Group (made up of Revenues and Benefits officers from Devon districts, Plymouth and Torbay as well as finance representatives from the major preceptors) had worked to progress the preferred option.

The Service Improvement Lead (Benefits) advised Members that the proposals were intended to help align the Council Tax Support scheme with changes already confirmed for Child Tax Credit from April 2017 and introduced to Housing Benefit in April 2016 and/or Universal Credit and reflected the increased understanding of Universal Credit as roll out continued.

The Portfolio Holder for Customer Access proposed the following amendments:-

·         removal of (2) a) - Removing the Family Premium for all new applicants

·         amendment of (2) b) –to read as: - to reduce “good cause” backdating to one month as originally proposed and to link  the CTS date of claim to the date a claimant is first made liable for Council Tax where the delay in issuing a bill is not caused by the claimant.

These were agreed unanimously by the Committee.

People Scrutiny Committee considered the report at its meeting on 3 November 2016 and it was noted that People Scrutiny supported the removal of the Family Premium for all new applicants. 

RECOMMENDED to Council that:-

(1)     the revised Exceptional Hardship policy be approved;

(2)     the following changes to the local Council Tax Support Scheme be approved;

a)    to reduce “good cause” backdating to one month as originally proposed and to link the Council Tax Support date of claim to the date a claimant is first made liable for Council Tax where the delay in issuing a bill is not caused by the claimant

b)    Using a minimum income for self-employed earners after 1 year’s self-employment

c)    Reducing the period for which a person can be absent from Great Britain and still receive Council Tax Support to 4 weeks

d)    Removing the Work Related Activity Component in the calculation of the entitlement for new applicants

e)    Removing entitlement to the Severe Disability Premium where another person is paid Universal Credit (Carers Element) for looking after them

f)     Removing entitlement to the additional earnings disregard for Universal Credit customers in work;

(3)     the implementation of change 2e) above be delayed to 1 April 2018 if the policy is introduced to Housing Benefit from a date after 1 April 2017; and

(4)     limiting the number of dependent children within the calculation for Council Tax Support to a maximum of 2 not be adopted.