As Retired Hack revealed through On The Wight back at the beginning of August, the Government is changing the way that council tax benefit (CTB) works from next year.
It’s not only reducing the amount of benefit available to local authorities by 10 per cent, but also pushing the responsibility onto them to set the benefit rates.
Those who followed our Twitter stream on Wednesday evening will know that the subject of how the Isle of Wight council will deal with the changes was debated and voted on at the full council meeting.
Although all councillors voted in favour of the motion to put the issue out to public consultation, it wasn’t without damning attacks on the proposal from opposition councillors.
Blank faces
Councillors said that they’d already received concerns from elderly residents worried about losing the benefit, but as made clear in all On The Wight reporting of the subject, it was reiterated that CTB for pensioners would be ring-fenced. They would be unaffected by the changes, as would the disabled and vulnerable.
This is a hugely complex subject and as Cllr Pugh presented the paper, it was met with several blank faces as some councillors in the chamber waded through the 29 page document (not to mention the eight appendices).
Agree a scheme or face £1.9m gap
Cllr Pugh explained that if the council do not agree a scheme to tackle the issue, reverting instead to the national scheme, they’d be left with a £1.9m gap which would need to be found from cuts in services or an increase in council tax.
He suggested that residents of working age – who are capable of work – should make a contribution to the services they receive from the council, mentioning several times ‘incentives to get people back to work’.
The proposal is that those residents, who currently receive council tax benefit, should contribute 20 per cent of council tax. He believed this was a reasonable figure.
Food or council tax?
Cllr Lumley pointed out that for a young person on Job Seekers Allowance – living on £48 per week – having to pay £4-5 per week would be equal to two or three meals and certainly not affordable as Cllr Pugh had suggested.
He called for the consultation to be backed up with an ‘effective and meaningful communication strategy’ to ensure that residents understand the implications of the proposals.
Not always easy to find work
Cllr Welsford agreed that those who can work, should work, but went on to say that it doesn’t always work in practical reality.
He sympathised with those who want to work, but were unable to find any on the Island. He said he would favour the motion as a consultation was important.
System must be fair and equal
Cllr Barry said that he didn’t believe it should be any council’s job to do this. He felt that second home owners already pay enough council tax at 90% and are of little burden on the council. He asked why councillors would assume that
“Where does the idea come from that that anyone who finds themselves, through misfortune, out of work and in need of benefits, are workshy?” he asked
“I can only support a system that is fair and equal.” he finished.
32 councillors present at the meeting voted in favour of the motion to put the proposals out to public consultation.
Image: © Tax Brackets
