Agenda item

To consider a report proposing the continuation of the current Council Tax Reduction Scheme, with the annual uprating of application amounts in line with Housing Benefit application amounts.

FINANCE COMMITTEE

(Jeremy Paul Mayhew)

13 December 2016

Council Tax Reduction Scheme

In 2013/14, the Government introduced a locally-determined Council Tax Reduction Scheme (CTRS). This replaced the national Council Tax Benefit scheme and assisted people on low incomes with their council tax bills. To protect residents on low incomes, the City of London Corporation adopted the Government’s default scheme for the financial years 2013/14 to 2015/16, which kept the CTRS in line with the Government’s general increase in benefits.

Changes were made to national benefits in the July 2015 budget and, as a result, it was not possible to maintain the same scheme for the 2016/17 financial year. A consultation exercise was undertaken and the Court agreed to make adjustments to the scheme to protect existing claimants from possibly being worse off, keeping the administration of the CTRS in line with Housing Benefit.

There were no proposals to make any specific amendments to the CTRS for this or future years, beyond keeping the CTRS in line with Housing Benefit and it was therefore recommended that the Court agree that the CTRS for 2017/18 be the same as the CTRS for 2016/17, subject to the annual uprating of amounts in line with Housing Benefit applicable amounts. It was also recommended that the CTRS for future years be the same as the previous year, subject to the application of those upratings.

Resolved – That approval be granted to the continuation of the current Council Tax Reduction Scheme, with the annual uprating of application amounts in line with Housing Benefit application amounts, as set out in paragraph 10 of the report.