Agenda item

To receive a presentation from Executive Director, Ian Harrison on the current work of the Council Tax Support Group.

Executive Director, Ian Harrison, provided a presentation on the work of the Council Tax Support Group (CTSG).

The Committee were apprised of the current scheme, which was managed locally, to help residents pay their Council Tax bill. It was noted that 4,778 households were currently in receipt of support for 2022/23, this figure included 2,821 households of working age and 1,957 households of pension age. The Committee were advised that the elected Member Group, would recommend to the Cabinet, at its meeting on 8th December, 2022, that the scheme remain the same for 2023/24, whilst mirroring the welfare benefits uplift. It was also noted that, a recommendation for a full review of the scheme during 2023/24, would be made. The review would look specifically at simplifying the scheme, ensuring the most vulnerable were protected and to ensure the cost, to the Council, was sustainable. Other local authority schemes would be considered during the review process.

The Committee reviewed the collection rates for Council Tax over the past four years for residents within the support scheme and those that were not in receipt of support. Collection rate percentages for those within the scheme averaged between 93-94%, and, over all the collection rate achieved each year had been in the region of 96-97%. In relation to arrears, it was noted that the majority (1,726), in receipt of support, owed between £0-£200, 369 owed between £200-£500 and 200 owed between £500-£3,000.

Other funds available to support residents though the Cost of Living crisis were noted, these included:

·         Discretionary Housing Payments - a cash limited fund, provided by the Government, to support people who required additional help with housing costs, not covered by Housing Benefit or Universal Credit. To date £90,203 had been awarded to 249 recipients.

·         Exceptional Hardship Payments – a fund agreed by the CTSG to provide additional support to those in receipt of Council Tax Support (CTS) who were experiencing financial hardship, the fund currently sat at £5,495, following awards made to the value of £16,505. It was advised that a recommendation would been made to the Cabinet, at its meeting on 8th December, 2022, that an additional £20,000 be added to the fund for 2022/23 from the earmarked reserve for Council Tax Hardship.

·         Council Tax Energy Rebates – a Government package to help households with rising energy bills, aimed at houses in the Council Tax Band A-D. It was noted that 32,677 households in the Borough had received £150. In addition, 2,625 payments had been made from a locally managed, Discretionary Energy Rebate fund, totalling £134,550.

·         Household Support Fund – a fund provided by Hampshire County Council (HCC) with specific instructions on who should receive support and in what form. Support had been provided to those in receipt of CTS and Pension Credit in the form of food vouchers, totalling £300,000 and an additional £42,000 had been provided for those in housing crisis, such as rent arrears and threat of eviction. Further funding was expected in late December, 2022, for a similar exercise.

In addition to the recommendations already set out above, it was noted that the CTSG would also recommend to the Cabinet, that the Council continue to work with partners in the locality to ensure sustainable solutions existed to assist with cost of living measures.

The Committee discussed the presentation and a request was made to share information on CTS arrears in the different bands (A-D).

The Chairman thanked Mr Harrison for his presentation.