Report No.115/2019

Report No.115/2019 was received from the Strategic Director for Resources.

MrGordon Brown, Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Planning, Environment, Property and Finance introduced the report, the purpose of which was to:

1.       Review whether any changes were required to the Local Council Tax support scheme and the Discretionary Fund for 2020/21 financial year and onwards.

2.       Seek approval of the Care Leavers addendum to the Discretionary Fund Policy to ensure that the Council is helping care leavers to achieve financial stability by alleviating the pressure of paying Council Tax up to the age of 25.

3.       Seek approval to undertake a public consultation exercise in order to ascertain people’s views about making changes to the Council Tax premium on empty homes that have been unoccupied for over two years.

During discussion the following points were noted:

·         The Council Tax Support Scheme discretionary fund was working well and was not oversubscribed which led officers to believe that there was not any compelling reason to change the scheme at this point of time.

·         Relief for care leavers was to be extended from the present age of 22 up to the age of 25 in order to help relive financial pressures and help care leavers achieve financial stability. This would be in line with the Government’s care leavers strategy ‘Keep on Caring’ which encouraged Councils to introduce measures to exempt care leavers from paying Council Tax

·         Mr A Walters, although he understood the motivation for the changes, did not support the terms of the extension to care leavers relief as he felt that they were not equitable. The extra relief did not reflect the length of time spent in care or the financial situation of any partner or family member that the care leaver lived with.

·         Mr G Brown explained that the relief was not automatic and it was at the discretion of the care leaver whether they applied for it or not.

·         In relation to the Empty Homes Consultation Members felt that Question 1 of the questionnaire (appendix B) was important in order to understand what residents’ position was in relation to the other questions asked and whether the public had alternative suggestions.

DECISIONS

Cabinet:

1.    RECOMMENDED to Council to continue with the existing Local council Tax support (LCTS) scheme and to adjust it annually for inflation in line with the Government’s Adjudications and Operations Circulars from 2020/21 financial year and onwards.

2.    RECOMMENDED to Council to retain the existing Discretionary Fund (DF) policy and to approve the addendum to the policy for Care Leavers detailed at Appendix A effective from financial year 202/21 year and onwards.

3.    NOTED that Council had approved that the Strategic Director for Resources (s.151 officer) in consultation with the Cabinet Member with portfolio for Finance, can make minor changes to the Local Council Tax Support scheme and the Discretionary Fund as a result of best practice, guidance or legislation.

4.    APPROVED that Officers undertake a public consultation on the premium for long term empty homes as described in the report and detailed at Appendix B.

Reasons for the decisions

LCTS and DF– It is the view of officers that there is no compelling reason for making changes to the scheme. Should Members wish to propose changes then officers will need to consider the steps required. Legal advice received is that formal consultation will be required if any changes to the structure of the scheme are made. This would exclude adjusting applicable amounts in the scheme in line with the Government’s annual circular

Care Leavers – Young people who leave care are provided with support as part of our statutory duties to help them transition into adulthood and living independently. As corporate parents it is crucial that we offer a wide range of support to enable care leavers to succeed. Alleviating the financial burden of paying council tax empowers and enables care leavers and supports our intentions set out in the Care Leavers’ Covenant. 

Long Term Empty Homes Premium- the premium was last reviewed in 2017, given the financial pressures that the Council is facing and our desire to reduce the number of empty homes in our area, is reasonable to consult the public on what we can change.